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Pulmonary capillariasis is a parasitic disease caused by the nematode Eucoleus aerophilus which affects wild and domestic carnivores. Currently, there are no anthelmintics approved for use in the treatment of dogs infected with E. aerophilus. The use of several anthelmintics has been reported in a few case reports and field efficacy studies in cats; much less is known on the treatment of dogs infected with E. aerophilus. The paper describes a case of a 4-month-old, mixed breed intact male referred to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH) of the Department of Veterinary Medical Science of the University of Bologna for a routine vaccination and tested positive for E. aerophilus. The dog has not been responding to three different administered treatments, such as moxidectin, fenbendazole, and milbemycin oxime. Eighteen months after the first fecal examination, owner has brought in the dog for a routine visit; a coprological examination was requested and performed resulting negative for parasites. Veterinary practitioners, parasitologists, diagnostic laboratories, and dog owners need to be aware of the increased danger of possible treatment failure when attempting to control parasitic infections for which there are no approved anthelmintics with established efficacies available for use.

Pigs are an important reservoir of Toxoplasma gondii, and pork meat is considered one of the main sources of human infection. The present survey assesses the prevalence of T. gondii in organically reared pigs in Sardinia found on the island using various diagnostic methods. Firstly, a seroepidemiological survey was carried out on 63 farms, examining individual blood samples from 414 adult pigs. Secondly, a biomolecular investigation carried out on another 62 farms, examining the brain samples from 107 adult pigs. The seroprevalence detected for T. gondii at the farm level was 85.7% (54 out of the 63 pig farms examined). However, the prevalence rate in the investigated pigs was 51.7% (214 positives out of 414 examined). A total of 54.8% (34/62) of the monitored pig farms were found to be positive by PCR. The presence of T. gondii DNA in individual brain samples was detected in 47.7% (51/107) of the examined animals. The high prevalence of T. gondii found is alarming and suggests that pigs reared on organic farms should be considered as a significant source of infection for humans in the areas investigated.

The lungworm Aelurostrongylus abstrusus is the most important respiratory parasite of domestic cats. Pulmonary aelurostrongylosis has been reported in wild felids, though unequivocally evidence of wildlife infection by A. abstrusus is scant. Recently, Troglostrongylus brevior, a lungworm usually infecting wild felids, has been described in domestic cats from Mediterranean areas. The present work evaluates the sequence variation of an informative region within the gene encoding the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 of A. abstrusus and T. brevior, in order to provide novel information on the genetic make-up of these lungworms. Parasitic stages of A. abstrusus and T. brevior were collected from domestic and wild hosts (i.e., domestic cat, European wildcat, caracal, serval, and lion) from Italy, Greece, and South Africa. Five (HI-HV) and four (HI-HIV) haplotypes were recorded for A. abstrusus and T. brevior, respectively, mostly shared between domestic and wild felids in different geographical areas. The phylogenetic analysis showed that all haplotypes of A. abstrusus and T. brevior clustered as monophyletic groups with a strong nodal support, indicating that all haplotypes identified were distinct from each other. All sequence types represent two distinct species, A. abstrusus and T. brevior, and these genetic convergences are also detected within and among populations of these nematodes, irrespective of their hosts and geographical origin. The occurrence of A. abstrusus and T. brevior haplotypes in different hosts from the same regions and between different countries indicates that the same lungworm populations circulate in domestic and wild hosts under the same routes of transmission.

Toxoplasma gondii infection is a worldwide parasitic zoonosis with a high-health risk for humans. The key epidemiological role played by felids is related to oocyst shedding. The present study compared two amplification protocols for the molecular diagnosis of Toxoplasma infection in owned cats. A total of 78 owned cats referred to an Italian university-teaching hospital and exposed to various T. gondii-associated risk factors were sampled for blood and faeces. Faecal specimens were processed by flotation and tested using 2 copro-PCRs targeting the widely used B1 gene and the 529-bp repetitive element (RE). The sera were tested by the indirect immunofluorescent antibody test (IFAT) for the detection of immunoglobulins against T. gondii. Sixteen faeces (20.52%) tested positive for T. gondii DNA; 12 samples were positive only at B1-PCR, two at 529-bp RE-PCR and two at both genetic targets (overall agreement = 82.11%). The amplicons obtained were sequenced, and the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool analysis showed a high homology with the T. gondii strains available in reference databases. Two stool samples were microscopically positive for T. gondii-like oocysts and also tested positive by both B1 and 529-bp RE-PCRs. Thirty-three (42.3%) sera tested positive for antibodies; of which, seven were found to have T. gondii DNA-positive results using the B1 genetic target (overall agreement = 57.77%). The amplification sets targeting B1 and 529-bp RE showed substantially different yields. Further research is needed to better understand the significance and the sensitivities of using these multi-copy-targeted molecular methods from cat faeces before being used for routine diagnosis.

The occurrence of common respiratory parasites of domestic cats (the metastrongyloid "cat lungworm" Aelurostrongylus abstrusus and the trichuroid Capillaria aerophila) and of neglected respiratory nematodes of felids (Troglostrongylus brevior, Angiostrongylus chabaudi and Oslerus rostratus) was here evaluated in two and three geographical sites of Northern and Central Italy, respectively. In 2014-2015, individual fecal samples of 868 domestic cats were examined microscopically and genetically, and epidemiological data related to parasitic infections were evaluated as possible risk factors by binary logistic regression models. The most common parasite was A. abstrusus in both mono- and poli-specific infections, followed by T. brevior and C. aerophila, while cats scored negative for other parasites. Cats positive for A. abstrusus (1.9-17 % infection rate) and C. aerophila (0.9-4.8 % infection rate) were found in all examined sites, while cats scored positive for T. brevior (1-14.3 % infection rate) in four sites. Also, T. brevior was here found for the first time in a domestic cat from a mountainous area of Northern Italy. The occurrence of lungworms was statistically related to the presence of respiratory signs and more significant in cats with mixed infection by other lungworms and/or intestinal parasites. Cats living in site C of Central Italy resulted statistically more at risk of infection for lungworms than cats living in the other study sites, while animals ageing less than 1 year were at more risk for troglostrongylosis. Finally, the presence of lungworms was more significant in cats with mixed infection by other lungworms and/or intestinal parasites. These results are discussed under epidemiological and clinical points of views.

The cat lungworm Aelurostrongylus abstrusus affects the domestic cat and other felids all over the world. Feline aelurostrongylosis is of importance in clinical feline medicine and is gaining more and more attention for the present expansion in the geographical range of A. abstrusus. Global warming and changes in phenology of snail intermediate hosts have been incriminated in this spreading. Helix aspersa, a potential vector of A. abstrusus, is endemic in most regions of the world, where it has become recently a pest outside its native Mediterranean range. The present work evaluated key features of larval development of A. abstrusus in H. aspersa at two different temperature conditions. The results showed that A. abstrusus may reach the infective stage in muscular foot and viscera of H. aspersa and that environmental temperatures may influence the biological cycle of the cat lungworm. In particular, the higher the average temperature, the higher the rate of larval development, i.e., about 50% of larvae of A. abstrusus reached the infective stage between temperatures of 18.8-29.5 °C, while only 17.8% of larvae completed their development at temperatures of 6.7-22 °C. Biological and epidemiological implications are discussed.

Sheep coccidiosis is a pathology caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Eimeria spp. with clinical and economic effect especially in young animals (Ambrosi 1995; Pellérdy 1974). A field study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of a metaphylactic treatment with toltrazuril 5 % suspension (Baycox®, Bayer) in comparison with diclazuril (Vecoxan®, Janssen-Cilag) and untreated controls against naturally acquired Eimeria infections in housed lambs. A total of 170 animals, aged 24 to 34 days and randomly divided in three homogeneous groups, were included in the study. The assessment of treatment efficacy was based on total faecal oocyst excretion (opg) and count reduction (FOCR) in the two groups of animals treated with toltrazuril (TOLT) and diclazuril (DICL) compared with untreated control group (C). The animals treated with toltrazuril showed a considerably lower mean opg to that of group C (5.78 opg versus 144.62 opg) (p < 0.05) and a FOCR of 97.7 %. The higher efficacy (99.23 %) was observed at 15 days post treatment; however, the average efficacy of the drug remained extremely high (> 90 %) for all the study. The lambs treated with diclazuril showed an intense, persistent oocyst excretion with average levels of 97.54 opg, (p < 0.05). This study demonstrates the good efficacy of toltrazuril administered orally to lambs in the prepatent period in subclinical natural Eimeria infections in housed lambs.

A blind, randomised, controlled, multicentric field trial was conducted to assess the influence of a metaphylactic treatment with an oral solution of toltrazuril on some reproductive parameters of Italian Fresian heifers during the first 18-20 months of life. For this goal 40 calves were selected from two dairy farms and randomly divided into two homogeneous groups: MTol, treated with toltrazuril and NegC, left untreated. The calves were clinically and coprologically examined over the entire study period. The body condition scores, the body weights and the age at the first service were recorded and compared between the two groups, in addition to some other reproductive parameters including number of pregnancies, average service per pregnancy, conception rate, conception rate at first service and post first service conception rate. The analysis of the results showed that the metaphylactic treatment with toltrazuril influenced positively the average age of the first service (MTol 461.4 days versus NegC 485.45 days), the overall conception rate (MTol 95 % versus NegC 85 %), the success at first (MTol 60 % versus NegC 45 %) and second (MTol 75 % versus NegC 45 %) services and, consequently, the mean number of services to be carried out for each animal (MTol 1.4 ± 0.6 versus NegC 1.6 ± 0.79). Furthermore, the results confirmed that toltrazuril treatment, applied in accordance with the epidemiological aspects of each farm, is highly efficacious in persistent reduction of oocyst excretions with particular reference to Eimeria zuernii, Eimeria bovis, considered to be mainly responsible for clinical coccidiosis.

A case of disseminated angiostrongylosis caused by Angiostrongylus vasorum in a dog living in Italy is here described. The dog was referred for severe respiratory distress and epileptic seizures; clinicopathological findings were consistent with severe pneumonia associated with right-sided heart failure and multifocal involvement of the brain. Bronchoalveolar fluid analysis identified a multitude of nematode larvae, identified as A. vasorum by conventional and biomolecular (PCR) methods. The major anatomo-histopathological lesions were chronic granulomatous pneumonia, a severe multifocal granulomatous myocarditis and multifocal mild vascular and inflammatory disease in the brain. A. vasorum should be included among the differentials of dogs with cardiovascular and neurologic disease.