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Epidemiological survey of zoonotic helminths in feral cats in Gran Canaria island (Macaronesian archipelago-Spain)
- Source :
- Acta parasitologica. 61(3)
- Publication Year :
- 2015
-
Abstract
- The presence of zoonotic parasites in feral cats have been widely considered all over the world. In Gran Canaria (Macaronesian archipelago, Canary Islands, Spain) the number of feral cats has grown out of control in urban and rural areas. 48 of Felis catus captured in different Gran Canaria areas were studied. Animals were necropsied and several organs were systematically examined in order to collect and identify macroscopic parasites. In addition, coprological tests were done in 28 cats. There were no statistically significant differences in the prevalence rate among sex, age or capture area, showing an overall prevalence of helminths of 77.1%. The most common tapeworms were Dipylidium caninum (64.6%) and Taenia taeniaeformis (31.3%), followed by the nematodes Toxocara cati (20.8%), Ancylostoma tubaeforme (18.8%), Aelurostrongylusabstrusus (10.4%) and Truchuris vulpis (2.08%). We also find several eggs of Alaria alata in the small intestine of one cat (2.08%), being the first description of this trematode in cats in the Canary Islands. Aproximatelly, 40% of the studied cats harboured more than one parasite. High rates of zoonotic species found in these animals suggest the need of controling parasitic infections and preventive measures against them.
- Subjects :
- 0301 basic medicine
Male
Veterinary medicine
Taenia taeniaeformis
Zoology
Cat Diseases
03 medical and health sciences
Ancylostoma tubaeforme
Toxocara cati
Helminths
Surveys and Questionnaires
Zoonoses
parasitic diseases
Animals
Dipylidium caninum
Islands
Toxascaris leonina
biology
Trichuris vulpis
030108 mycology & parasitology
biology.organism_classification
Spain
Cats
Feral cat
Parasitology
Female
Helminthiasis, Animal
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 18961851
- Volume :
- 61
- Issue :
- 3
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Acta parasitologica
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....f8fa903fcf44f2788ce573afa3c5fb9d