Investigation of Toxocara infection in stray and domestic cats referred to veterinary clinics in Sari city
Subject Areas : Parasitology and parasitic diseases
Beheshteh Bakhshandeh
1
,
Sohrab rasouli
2
1 - Student in Veterinary Medicine, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Ur.C., Islamic Azad University, Urmia, Iran
2 - Department of Veterinary Medicine, Ur.C., Islamic Azad University, Urmia, Iran
Keywords: Toxocara cati, flotation, stray and domestic cats, Sari,
Abstract :
Introduction: Among zoonotic infectious diseases, dogs and cats are considered the main reservoirs for spreading infections to the public and can harbor various pathogens such as intestinal worms. Toxocariasis is one of the intestinal parasitic infections of carnivores, especially cats. This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of T. cati infection in cats in Sari County.
Methods: Fecal samples were collected from 240 stray and domestic cats in Sari County. In this study, the flotation method using zinc sulfate solution was employed to detect T. cati eggs in the cats' fecal samples.
Results: The results from the parasite egg flotation in the present study indicate that 47 fecal samples (19.6%) (95% confidence interval: 14.6% - 24.6%) from cats in Sari County contained T. cati eggs. Infection with T. cati in fecal samples of cats aged one year or younger (25%) was significantly higher than in cats older than one year (9.5%) (P<0.05). Also, domestic cats (13.8%) had significantly lower infection rates compared to stray cats (30.9%) (P<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in infection prevalence based on the cats’ gender (P>0.05).
Conclusion: The results of the present study indicate a relatively high prevalence of T. cati in cats of Sari County. Given the presence and movement of stray cats in residential and non-residential areas, and considering the spread of infection through various routes by infected animals, this level of contamination is a public health concern in the region.
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