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Multicenter Study
. 2009 Oct;11(10):803-7.
doi: 10.1016/j.jfms.2009.02.001. Epub 2009 Mar 13.

Observed occurrence of Tritrichomonas foetus and other enteric parasites in Australian cattery and shelter cats

Sally A Bissett  1 , Maria L Stone, Richard Malik, Jacqueline M Norris, Carolyn O'Brien, Caroline S Mansfield, Julia M Nicholls, Alison Griffin, Jody L Gookin
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Observed occurrence of Tritrichomonas foetus and other enteric parasites in Australian cattery and shelter cats

Sally A Bissett et al. J Feline Med Surg. 2009 Oct.

Abstract

Cattery-housed pedigree cats, located mostly within the USA, have the highest reported prevalence of Tritrichomonas foetus (T foetus) to date. This prospective, multi-institutional, cross sectional study examines the occurrence of T foetus and other enteric parasites in cattery-housed and shelter cats within Australia, where T foetus has only recently been identified. Faecal specimens were collected from 134 cats, including 82 cattery-housed pedigree cats and 52 shelter cats. Faecal examinations performed for most cats included concentration techniques, Snap Giardia test, culture in InPouch medium, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of T foetus ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) genes using species-specific primers. Observed occurrence of T foetus, Giardia species, Isospora species and Toxascaris leonina for cattery-housed cats (and catteries) were 0%, 7.4 (13.8)%, 10.9 (22.6)% and 1.6 (3.2)%, respectively. Observed occurrence of T foetus, Giardia species, Isospora species and hookworms for shelter cats were 0%, 11.5%, 9.8% and 4.9%, respectively. These results suggest the prevalence of T foetus in cattery-housed cats is currently much lower in Australia than in the USA, while Isospora and Giardia species infections are common.

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