PARASITES OF CATS : AN UNDERESTIMATED DIVERSITY Jelgava September 2014
Introduction Parasites are animals that benefit at the expense of another organism (called the host), usually of a different species. The association may also lead to the injury of the host. No Copyright on pictures
Introduction Common features of all parasites Cold-blooded invertebrates Animals - High reproduction rates Life cycle with several stages Parasites fight against the host immune system Infestation dependent on external conditions for ectoparasites (seasonality of the market) Less marked for internal parasites Different forms with different sensitivities to treatment and different localisations Infestation level may vary from one individual to another (influence of age). Young animals are usually more susceptible 3
Cat Ectoparasites : Arthopods Acarians Insects Chewing louse Ear mite Demodex mite Mosquito Sandfly Flea Walking dandruff mite Tick Cat mange mite Ectoparasites Endoparasites
Cat Endoparasites Digestive = Gastro-intestinal parasites Parasites of other organs or tissues Respiratory parasites (Oslerus, Crenosoma, Filaroides, Aelurostrongylus) Heart and arteries (Angiostrongylus vasorum, Dirofilaria immitis) Vesical (Capillaria, Dioctophyme) Systemic: Phagocytes (Leishmania) - Blood (Babesia) Diversity of parasites Helminths (= worms) Protozoans
Cat Endoparasites Babesia UNICELLULARS Protozoans WORMS Nematodes Cestodes (tapeworms) Giardia Tritrichomonas Coccidia Roundworm Cat roundworm Hookworm Threadworm Cytauxzoon Leishmania Eyeworm Taenia tapeworm Dipylidium tapeworm Echinococcus tapeworm Broad tapeworm Liver fluke Mesocestoides tapeworm Cat lungworm Bladder worm Heartworm Ectoparasites Endoparasites
Nematodes Cylindrical section Length = 0.5 mm to 1 m Separate gender ± 26000 species not all parasites Growth by molting Cuticle = close to arthropods
Worms : nematodes Toxocara sp Ancylostoma sp No Copyright on pictures
Life cycle Nematodes Definitive Host Ex : Cat adults male & female L3 L4 Pre-adults Ingestion or vector transmission L3 Intermediate Host or External Environment Eggs or Larvae L1 L2 RESISTANT FORMS
Example Cat roundworm (Toxocara cati) Larvae migrate into the LUNG In kittens (<6 months) tracheal migration > adult in DT In adults: somatic migration = cysts in the body possible reactivation during oestrus and pregnancy INGESTION D. H. LACTOGENIC TRANSMISSION 1 Adults P. H. Rodents Kittens can become infected from the milk P.H. ingest infective eggs 2 Non-infective eggs 2-4 weeks Prepatent period = 4-6 weeks Longevity of adults = 6 months 3 Infective eggs Faeces Non-infective eggs VERY RESISTANT FORMS
Plathelminthes = Flatworms Flat section Hermaphrodites + all Endoparasites 2 groups Trematodes: no segmentation Cestodes: body divided in several segments (proglottids) FOCUS ON CESTODES : Flat worms that look like tape, ribbon > tapeworm Segmented body including 3 parts: Scolex, Neck, Body Fixation structures (scolex & rostrum) No Copyright on pictures
Worms: cestodes = tapeworm No Copyright on pictures EUD LAUNCH CONVENTION BUCHAREST 2014
Life cycle Cestodes Definitive Host Ex : Cat Hermaphrodite adults in the digestive track Eggs (alone or in proglottids) Intermediate Host Larvae = Immature stages (different forms)
Example Dipylidium tapeworm (Dipylidium caninum) D. H. Human risk Cats ingest fleas 1 Adults (small intestine) 4 Cysticercoids Faeces Proglottid (containing egg packets) 3 Adult fleas Hexacanth embryo Flea pupal stage I. H. 2 Egg packets Larval stage of fleas I.H. ingest the eggs
Importance of helminths endoparasites Prevalence : 5-20% of dogs/cats are infested by intestinal worms (up to 60-90 % in kennels) Medical importance Toxocarosis, Heartworm disease, Ancylostomosis Economic consequences : Toxocarosis / breeding Zoonotic risks Larva migrans due to ascarids or ancylostomes Multilocular Echinococcosis
Epidemiological data
Results of a 2012-2013 european multicentric survey on cat parasites P. Bourdeau, V. Cosma, R. Farkas, J. Guillot, L. Halos, A. Joachim, B. Losson, G. Miro, D. Otranto, L. Rinaldi, F. Beugnet
2012-2013: ONE YEAR ROUND STUDY 9 veterinary faculties from 7 European countries FRANCE: Nantes, Maisons-Alfort ITALY: Napoli, Bari SPAIN: Madrid BELGIUM (Liège) AUSTRIA (Vienna) HUNGARY (Budapest) ROMANIA (Cluj-Napoca) Enrolment criteria Routine consultation (no acute disease, no parasitic disease) No anthelmintic treatment for 2 months prior to inclusion No ectoparasiticide treatment for 1 month prior to inclusion Random sampling of cats weekly
PARASITE CHECKING ECTOPARASITE CHECKING Combing for fleas and ticks Stored in 60% ethanol for identification to species [Specific Dipylidium PCR on fleas] Otoscope examination for ear mites Adhesive tape and skin scrapping if suspected skin mite infestations ENDOPARASITE CHECKING Examination of faecal samples Macroscopic examination: adult parasites and cestode proglottids Microscopic examination: cysts, eggs and larvae Each centre used its normal standard parasitological techniques for faecal analysis.
RESULTS 1519 ownedcats enrolled SITE Nb of cats AUSTRIA 92 ALFORT 96 NANTES 91 BARI 300 NAPOLI 215 SPAIN 70 BELGIUM 55 ROMANIA 300 HUNGARY 300
Cat demographic data Female Male 57.0% (866) 43.0% (653) Age <6 months 6-24 months > 24 months 14.9% (223) 31.3% (470) 53.8% (807) LIFESTYLE Appartment House 42.1% (639) 57.9% (880) HUNTING NOT HUNTING 53.2% (808) 46.8% (711) Frequent outdoor access Mainly indoors 72.0% (1093) 28.0% (426) Multipet household Single animal 75.5% (1147) 24.5% (372)
RESULTS More than the half of the European Cat population carry at least 1 parasite Out of 1519 examined cats 50,7% (770) were infested by parasites (external or internal)
ECTOPARASITE INFESTATION % (nb) CI 95% Overall ectoparasite 29.6% (450) 27.3-32 Fleas 15.5% (236) 13.7-17.5 Ticks 1.18% (18) 0.7-1.87 Otodectes 17.5% (265) 15.6-19.5 Other ectoparasites 1.38% (21) 0.86-2.11 Other ectoparasite infestation included Felicola subrastratus (13 cats) Cheyletiella blakei (5 cats) Notoedres cati (3 cats)
ENDOPARASITE INFESTATION Overall endoparasite 35.1% (533/1519) % (nb) CI 95% [32.7%-35.7%] Gastro-intestinal helminthes GI nematodes GI cestodes 25.7% (390/1519) [23.5%-28.0%] 20.5% (312/1519) [19.1%-23.3%] 7.0% (64/1519) [5.8%-8.5%] Protozoans 20.6% (182/885) [18.0%-23.4%] Respiratory nematodes 5.4% (60/1115) [4.1%-6.9%]
GI helminthes - NEMATODES Gastro-intestinal nematodes 20.5% (312) [19.1%-23.3%] Roundworm (Toxocara cati) 19.8% (300) [17.8%-21.8%] Toxascaris leonina 0.33% (5) [0.11%-0.77%] Hookworm Ancylostoma tubaeformae / Uncinaria stenocephala 1.45% (22) [0.91%-2.18%] Ancylostoma egg
GI helminthes - CESTODES Gastro-intestinal cestodes 7.0% (64) [5.8%-8.5%]! poor sensitivity of coproscopy for the detection of cestode As demonstrated in previous studies, coproscopic estimation for cestodes leads to under-estimation : 5x more infested animals.
Co-infestations Both external and internal parasites 14.0% (213) [12.3%-15.9%] Fleas and gastro-intestinal nematodes 5.4% (82) [4.3%-6.7%] Fleas and Toxocara spp. 5.3% (80) [4.2%-6.5%] Fleas and Dipylidium spp. 0,46% (7) [0.19%-0.95%] Co-infestation by external and internal parasites is not a rare event in cats
Conclusion
Conclusion Worms are common in cats Important variations between individuals, breeding kennels, other kennels, rural areas, urban areas, medicalized animal or not Life cycles are complex Public health risk may be significant Deworming management and advise is a important task of the veterinarians