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. 2013 Feb;112(2):855-61.
doi: 10.1007/s00436-012-3207-0. Epub 2012 Dec 13.

Occurrence and regional distribution of Aelurostrongylus abstrusus in cats in Germany

Dieter Barutzki  1 , Roland Schaper
Affiliations

Occurrence and regional distribution of Aelurostrongylus abstrusus in cats in Germany

Dieter Barutzki et al. Parasitol Res. 2013 Feb.

Abstract

Infections with the metastrongyloid nematode Aelurostrongylus abstrusus in cats have been reported sporadically from Germany. To assess the occurrence and regional geographical distribution of A. abstrusus in Germany, faecal samples from 391 cats with symptoms of respiratory disease were collected from December 2009 to November 2011. The zinc chloride/sodium chloride flotation and Baermann funnel technique were used to examine the samples for the presence of lungworm larvae. The collected data were analyzed using a geographic information system (GIS). Infections with lungworms were diagnosed in 26 (6.6 %) of the examined cats. The infection rates did not show significant differences in the age groups up to 7 years. Only cats older than 7 were significantly less infected with lungworms than young cats. Sixteen of the 192 female cats examined and 7 of the 186 males were positive for A. abstrusus, but there were no significant differences for the variable 'gender infection rate'. Most of the A. abstrusus-positive cats were located in Baden-Wuerttemberg, followed by Lower Saxony, Bremen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saarland, Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein. The majority of infected cats showed severe clinical symptoms characterised by coughing and dyspnoea, increased breathing rate, weight loss, bronchopneumonia, generally poor condition, sneezing and nasal discharge. The high number of lungworm-positive cats and the severe clinical symptoms should encourage veterinarians in Germany to consider infections with A. abstrusus as a differential diagnosis in cats with symptoms of respiratory disease.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Light micrograph of the posterior end of the first-stage larva (L1) of Aelurostrongylus abstrusus immobilised by heat
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Light micrograph of a dehydrated, damaged and morphologically altered first-stage larva (L1) of Aelurostrongylus abstrusus after flotation using a concentrated salt solution with zinc chloride and sodium chloride (specific gravity, 1.3)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Seasonal distribution of Aelurostrongylus abstrusus-positive feline faecal samples (n = 26) in Germany
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Regional geographical distribution of Aelurostrongylus abstrusus in cats in Germany
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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