Darabi E, Kia EB, Mohebali M, Mobedi I, Zahabiun F, Zarei Z, Khodabakhsh M, Khanaliha K. Gastrointestinal Helminthic Parasites of Stray Cats (
Felis catus) in Northwest Iran.
Iran J Parasitol 2021;
16:418-425. [PMID:
34630587 PMCID:
PMC8476725 DOI:
10.18502/ijpa.v16i3.7095]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2021] [Accepted: 06/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Stray cats are considered an important source of various human and animal diseases, particularly diseases of parasitic helminths. We aimed to investigate the distribution of zoonotic species of gastrointestinal helminths in stray cats in Meshkin-Shahr district in Ardabil Province in the northwest of Iran.
METHODS
The gastrointestinal tract of 104 stray cats from villages of Meshkin-Shahr district were provided during 2014-2015. Each gastrointestinal tract was cut into distinct sections, including esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine, and each section was examined separately for detection of helminths. Helminths were collected and then identified at the species level after clearing and staining.
RESULTS
Overall, 88 out of 104 cats (84.6%) were found to be infected with at least one gastrointestinal helminth. The rate of infection for each species was as follows: Toxocara mystax (syn. cati) (49%), Taenia taeniaeformis (44.2%), Joyexiella pasqualei (32.7%), Dipylidium caninum (23.1%), Rictularia cahirensis (4.8%), and Physaloptera praeputialis (4.8%). Among these parasites, only Ph. praeputialis was collected from the stomach, all other helminths were collected from the small intestine.
CONCLUSION
The results demonstrate a high infection rate of stray cats with zoonotic helminths. The presence of zoonotic species in stray cats, particularly T. mystax, has public health importance.
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