A survey of helminths in stray cats from Copenhagen with ecological aspects

Abstract

At autopsy of 230 adult stray cats, 120 from backyards and 110 from gardens, the intestinal tract was scrutinized for helminths. The prevalence of Toxocara cati, Taenia taeniaeformis and Dipylidium caninum was found to be 79%, 11% and 14%, respectively. Comparisons were made with the results of previous Danish investigations. The prevalence of Toxocara cati was found to be independent of time of collection and the sex and habitat of the cats and identical in cats with or without Taenia. This indicates that paratenic hosts do not play an important epizootiological role in the transmission of T. cati. The intensity of Toxocara per cat followed a negative binomial pattern. The high prevalence of T. cati combined with most cats having a low wormload shows that the cat population generally possesses a high degree of resistance against superimposed infections. The intensity of male Toxocara increases with the size of the worm population. This we consider to be an expression of increasing susceptibility of the cats. The prevalence of T. taeniaeformis was significantly higher in garden cats, due to their greater opportunity for catching mice. D. caninum, however, was significantly more frequent in backyard cats, probably owing to better living condition for the flea larvae in backyards. For both T. taeniaeformis and D. caninum a higher frequency was found in female cats, which is thought to be associated with their care for the kittens.

A survey study on gastrointestinal parasites of stray cats in Azarshahr, (East Azerbaijan province, Iran)

“…Moreover, the most common helminth parasites, detected in our study, were M. lineatus (78 %) and T. cati (78 %). The prevalence of T. cati infection was higher than the estimated prevalence previously found in Christmas Island (53.57 %) (Adams et al 2008), Northern Germany (27.1 %) (Becker et al 2012), Spain (55.2 %) (Calvete et al 1998), Mexico (3 %) (Canto et al 2013), Hungary (17.4 %) (Capari et al 2013), Thailand (3.5 %) (Jittapalapong et al 2007), Egypt (9 %) (Khalafalla 2011), India (4 %) (Krecek et al 2010), Brazil (25.2 %) (Labarthe et al 2004), Greece (18.14 %) (Lefkaditis et al 2014), Spain (35 %) (Millan and Casanova 2009), Romania (20.3 %) (Mircean et al 2010), Australia (3.2 %), (Palmer et al 2008), Nigeria (16.67 %) (Raji et al 2013), England (34.8 %) (Nichol et al 1981), Brazil (4.11 %) (Ramos (Riggio et al 2013), Argentina (61.2 %) (Sommerfelt et al 2006), Northern Italy (33.1 %) (Spada et al 2013), as well as in Iranian contexts including Shiraz (42.6 %) (Zibaei et al 2007), Northern Iran (44 %) (Sharif et al 2007), Mashhad (28.84 %) (Borji et al 2011), North of Iran (8 %) (Changizi et al 2007), Isfahan (13 %) (Jamshidi et al 2002), Tehran (42.31 %) (Mirzayans 1973), Kashan (13.3) (Arbabi and Hooshyar 2009), Ahvaz (8.3 %), Tehran (23 %) (Bahadori et al 2004), However, similar prevalence of T. cati infection has been recorded in Denmark (79 %) by Engbaek et al (1984). The most likely reasons for the increased prevalence of T. cati in our studies were the poor hygiene, lack of anthelmintics drug used in stray cats, the presence of high humidity, and moderate temperatures (Arbabi and Hooshyar 2009).…”

“…Various factors likes influence on the parasitic burden in stray cats; geographical region, season of the year, administration of antiparasitic treatment and factors related to population parameters (age, sex, breed) (Mircean et al 2010). Previous studies have usually recorded a high prevalence of parasites in stray and feral cats (Adams et al 2008;Becker et al 2012;Calvete et al 1998;Canto et al 2013;Capari et al 2013;Coman 1972;Duarte et al 2010;Engbaek et al 1984;Jittapalapong et al 2007;Khalafalla 2011;Krecek et al 2010;Labarthe et al 2004;Lefkaditis et al 2014;Millan and Casanova 2009;Ramos et al 2013;Riggio et al 2013;Stoichev et al 1982). In Iran, little is known about the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites in stray cats.…”

Survey of helminth parasites of cats from the metropolitan area of Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brazil

“…Companion animals, including cats, contribute significantly to contamination of the environment through their droppings, deposited in urban areas (ENGBAEK et al, 1984). The occurrence of the species described above, such as Ancylostoma spp.…”

Prevalencia de helmintos intestinales en gatos domésticos del departamento del Quindío, Colombia

“…En diferentes regiones del mundo se han identificado las siguientes especies y frecuencias parasitarias en gatos: Ancylostoma braziliensis, 25 % (10); Ancylostoma tubaeforme, entre 14,7 y 44 % (6,10,17); T. cati, del 0,8 al 79 % (6,16,18,19), y Dipylidium caninum, entre 14 y 47 % (9-11,18). Las prevalencias de las especies halladas en el presente estudio se encuentran dentro de los rangos reportados a nivel mundial.…”