| dc.description.abstract | In household cats infections with intestinal parasites are important because of both the cat’s health and the public health as there can be a zoonotic risk. It is important to know the lifestyle of the cat, which parasites are present in the cat and which deworming regimen is applied by the cat owner. An infection with intestinal parasites may depend on these factors. One of the parasites that infects cats in the northern part of Europe, but which is perhaps less well known to veterinarians in the Netherlands, is the hookworm, Ancylostoma tubaeforme. In this study, 354 fecal samples from household cats in the Netherlands have been analyzed, using the CSF and Baermann technique for an estimation of the prevalence of A. tubaeforme and other intestinal parasites. Strongyle type eggs were cultured for determination of A. tubaeforme larvae. Because information about larval determination is lacking, the larval morphology is restricted to the genus Ancylostoma sp. and based on the larval morphology of A. caninum. Association between patent infections and the lifestyle of cats (indoor versus outdoor cats), infection with intestinal parasites, infection with A. tubaeforme and deworming (0-4 times a year versus > 4 times a year) were analyzed, using the Chi-square test.
183 participants have sent their cat’s faeces to the laboratory of the Faculty of Vetrinary Medicine at Utrecht University. In total fecal samples of 354 individual cats were analyzed, of which 191 cats were indoor cats and 147 cats were outdoor cats, from 16 cats data was lacking. A total of 26 cats (7,3%) were found positive for intestinal parasites. 9 indoor cats (4,7%) were found positive for intestinal parasites and 15 outdoor cats (10,2%) were found positive for intestinal parasites, of which one cat was found positive for A. tubaeforme (0,3%). Outdoor cats have a significant higher prevalence of intestinal parasites than indoor cats. The questionnaire is answered by 177 participants for 338 individual cats. From the 338 cats, 325 cats were dewormed. From the 325 dewormed cats, 237 cats are dewormed at least once a year, 88 cats were dewormed without using a deworming schedule. Significantly more outdoor cats are dewormed more than four times a year than indoor cats. Furthermore, the association between deworming and intestinal parasites is statistical analyzed and dewormed cats have a significant higher prevalence of intestinal parasites than non-dewormed cats. However, 88 % of the participating cats are dewormed more than one month ago. The recent use of the anthelmintic and the most commenly used short-acting anthelmintic Milbemax could be an explanation for the significant difference.
For further research, more cats need to be sampled for more reliability of the conclusions. Research of the morphology of the larvae of A. tubaeforme is necessary for a complete determination and microscopic diagnosis with more certainty. | |
