Trematodes Recovered in the Small Intestine of Stray Cats in the Republic of Korea

Abstract

In 2005, we reported the infection status of 438 stray cats with various species of intestinal helminths, including nematodes (4 species), trematodes (23 species), and cestodes (5 species) in the Republic of Korea. However, morphologic details of each helminth species have not been provided. In the present study, we intended to describe morphologic details of 13 trematode species which were either new fauna of cats (10 species) or new fauna of not only cats but also all animal hosts (3 species). The worms were fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin under a cover slip pressure, stained with Semichon's acetocarmine, and then observed using a light microscope equipped with a micrometer. The 13 subjected species included members of the Heterophyidae (Stellantchasmus falcatus, Stictodora fuscata, Stictodora lari, Centrocestus armatus, Procerovum varium, and Cryptocotyle concava), Echinostomatidae (Echinostoma hortense, Echinostoma revolutum, Echinochasmus japonicus, and Stephanoprora sp.), Diplostomidae (Neodiplostomum seoulense), Plagiorchiidae (Plagiorchis muris), and Dicrocoeliidae (Eurytrema pancreaticum). By the present study, Cryptocotyle sp. and Neodiplostomum sp. recored in our previous study were identified as C. concava and N. seoulense, respectively. Three species, P. varium, C. concava, and Stephanoprora sp., are new trematode fauna in Korea.

Zoonotic Intestinal Trematodes in Stray Cats (<i>Felis catus</i>) from Riverside Areas of the Republic of Korea

“…Sohn and Chai [ 12 ] added more than 15 species of ZITs in the fauna of cat trematodes, and Shin et al [ 13 ] reported Gymnophalloides seoi found in feral cats from Shinan-gun, Jeollanam-do. Chai et al [ 14 ] clarified species names of some ZITs recorded by Sohn and Chai [ 12 ] in the faunistic point of view. Thus far, more than 23 species, i.e., Metagonimus spp., Heterophyes nocens , Heterophyopsis continua , Pygidiopsis summa , Stellantchasmus falcatus , Stictodora fuscata , Stictodora lari , Acanthotrema felis , Centrocestus armatus , Procerovum varium , Cryptocotyle concava , Echinostoma hortense , Echinostoma revolutum , Echinochasmus japonicus , Echinochasmus perfoliatus , Echinochasmus sp., Echinoparyphium sp., Stephanoprora sp., Neodiplostomum seoulense , Plagiorchis muris , Plagiorchis sp., Gymnophalloides seoi , and Eurytrema pancreatitum , have been reported as the ZITs recovered from cats in Korea [ 7 , 8 , 11 - 14 ].…”

“…That’s why this predator animal is highly infected with various species of parasites, and act as the important reservoir hosts of human and veterinary parasites. Surveys on intestinal parasite infections in stray or feral cats have been conducted in various regions of the world including the Republic of Korea (Korea) [ 1 - 14 ]. Especially, in Korea, more than 21 species of zoonotic intestinal trematodes (ZITs) from cats have been reported in the literatures [ 7 , 8 , 11 - 14 ].…”

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“…Cats and dogs may play an important role as reservoir host in endemic areas of zoonotic trematodes (Chai et al, 2013). In Egypt, Kuntz and Chandler (1956) detected many trematode species in stray cats, among which H. heterophyes, H.aequalis and P.genata were common.…”

Intestinal Flukes Recovered from a Herring Gull, Larus argentatus, in the Republic of Korea

“…In Korea, Cryptocotyle concava and Cryptocotyle sp. were reported several times from the small intestines of ducks [7] and feral cats [8][9][10]. However, no reports have been made on C. lingua, and this is a new fauna record in Korea.…”

“…However, no reports have been made on C. lingua, and this is a new fauna record in Korea. Major morphological differences between C. lingua and C. concava include the body shape (slightly elongated vs ovoid, respectively), ventrogenital apparatus or ventrogenital sac (large vs small), and testes (obliquely tandem vs almost side by side) [9].…”