Intestinal disorders are a quitefrequent occurrence in domestic cats younger than 1 year. Aim of the present study was to conduct a cross-sectional survey on the prevalence of enteric protozoan infections among a population of cats clinically affected by intestinal disorders and to give a description of the likely clinical patterns. The study involved 92 kittens, less than 12 months old, belonged to shelters (n. 37) and private households (n. 55) and showing modifications of stool's macroscopic characteristics. Each animal was subjected to clinical examination and data collection. Individual faecal samples were taken during visits. Each sample was examined by means of a flotation-cen-Trifugation tecnique, processed for copro-Antigenic search of Giardia duodenalis and Cryptosporidium spp. and tested for the detection of Tritrichomonas foetus by molecular tools. The results of the present survey showed that enteric protozoan parasitism is a condition frequently associated to intestinal disorders in cats younger than 1 year. Overall 21.74% of the animals tested positive for at least one protozoan species. In the infected animals the following parasites have been identified: G. duodenalis (14.13%), Cystoisospora spp. (10.87%) and T. foetus (2.17%). Having an age less than 4 months and living in shelters werefoundprognosticfor protozoan infections. Othenvise, clinical signs were not indicative with the exception of haematochezia and steatorrhea for, respectively, Cystoisospora spp. and G. duodenalis infections. Given the scant recovery of T. foetus infections, further studies are needed to confirm any consideration.
Enteric protozoan infections in kittens affected by intestinal disorders: A cross sectional survey in Umbria region
Morganti G.;Diaferia M.;Veronesi F.
2016
Abstract
Intestinal disorders are a quitefrequent occurrence in domestic cats younger than 1 year. Aim of the present study was to conduct a cross-sectional survey on the prevalence of enteric protozoan infections among a population of cats clinically affected by intestinal disorders and to give a description of the likely clinical patterns. The study involved 92 kittens, less than 12 months old, belonged to shelters (n. 37) and private households (n. 55) and showing modifications of stool's macroscopic characteristics. Each animal was subjected to clinical examination and data collection. Individual faecal samples were taken during visits. Each sample was examined by means of a flotation-cen-Trifugation tecnique, processed for copro-Antigenic search of Giardia duodenalis and Cryptosporidium spp. and tested for the detection of Tritrichomonas foetus by molecular tools. The results of the present survey showed that enteric protozoan parasitism is a condition frequently associated to intestinal disorders in cats younger than 1 year. Overall 21.74% of the animals tested positive for at least one protozoan species. In the infected animals the following parasites have been identified: G. duodenalis (14.13%), Cystoisospora spp. (10.87%) and T. foetus (2.17%). Having an age less than 4 months and living in shelters werefoundprognosticfor protozoan infections. Othenvise, clinical signs were not indicative with the exception of haematochezia and steatorrhea for, respectively, Cystoisospora spp. and G. duodenalis infections. Given the scant recovery of T. foetus infections, further studies are needed to confirm any consideration.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
