Endoparasites of wildcats in Croatia

Abstract

ABSTRACTreports on the parasitic fauna of wildcats (Felis silvestris silvestris) are rare and often based on a small sample size, therefore the goal of this research was to investigate the prevalence of endoparasites in wildcats in Croatia. Necropsy was conducted on 34 adult wildcats killed in traffic or provided by hunters following regular hunting operations. all animals tested negative for rabies. the contents of the stomach and intestine were examined under a microscope. Feces from the rectum were analyzed using flotation with a saturated ZnSO 4 solution, while the diaphragm was examined using artificial digestion. Direct immunofluorescence was used for the first time to detect Giardia sp. cysts in wildcats. all animals were infected with at least one species of parasites, while the most diverse infestation included six different species of parasites in a single animal. the following parasite species were found (% of prevalence of adult parasites and their developmental stages in all analyzed samples): Taenia

Endoparasites of European Wildcats (Felis silvestris) in Greece

“…The fact that all necropsied animals were infected and that polyparasitism was universal is not surprising and in accordance with previous surveys [ 45 ]. Negative results for a few faecal samples could be attributed to the intermittent shedding of eggs, larvae, cysts, and oocysts in the faeces, and/or to environmental conditions that may have affected the conservation of the parasite developmental stages.…”

“…The intestinal protozoa found in the faecal examinations have been reported previously in wildcats [ 45 ] and are common in domestic cats. Cystoisospora spp.…”

“…In fact, the inherent difficulties in these surveys are reflected on the small number of parasitological data on wildcats globally. Indeed, current knowledge comes from restricted geographic areas, a few countries, and it derives from a small sample size [ 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 ], specific groups of parasites [ 11 , 42 ], faecal examinations only [ 43 ], combination of faecal examination and examination of stomach and intestine contents [ 44 , 45 ], or finally, single case reports [ 22 , 23 , 33 , 46 , 47 ]. In the present study, a combination of faecal examination of field-collected samples, with necropsy and copromicroscopic examination of road-killed animals found in the same areas, provided a comprehensive picture of parasitic fauna and infection rates in wildcats in Greece.…”

“…Cystoisospora spp. is reported in wildcats with 4.1–29.4% positivity rates [ 43 , 44 , 45 ] and have a direct life cycle. The animals get infected by ingesting the sporulated oocysts from the environment.…”

Ascarid infection in wild Amur tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) in China

“…Infection of Toxascaris is generally with considerably lower prevalence compared to Toxocara infections in domestic cats [10]. The prevalence of T. leonina was 5.9 to 30% in domestic cats [11][12][13], and the prevalence of T. cati was 7.2 to 83.3% has been showed in earlier studies [14][15][16].…”