No abstract

An 8-month-old owned European cat showing abdominal pain, fever, distended painful bladder and urinary blockage was presented. Intravenous fluids were immediately administered and, after sedation, a urinary catheter was applied. Blood and urine analysis revealed cystitis and a moderate-to-severe degree of renal failure. About 20 thread-like nematodes, identified as Capillaria plica larvae and fragments of adult stages, were found in the urine sediment. After treatment with an oral formulation of fenbendazole at 25 mg/kg q 12 h for 10 days, urinary signs and bladder worms disappeared. Cases of Capillaria species bladder worms in cats are rarely reported and most infected cats show no clinical signs, presumably because of a low parasite burden. In the present study, feline capillariosis was associated to urethral obstruction, severe difficulties in urination, cystitis and renal failures.

Cats are the key species in the epidemiology of Toxoplasma gondii infection, even if the proportion of subjects excreting oocysts is low. The aim of the present paper was to obtain information about seroprevalence, oocyst shedding rate and presence of T gondii DNA in faeces collected from an urban population of colony cats in Florence (Tuscany). Fifty European shorthair feral cats were examined for anti-T gondii specific antibodies by a modified agglutination test (MAT), and for oocysts by microscopic examination and for faecal protozoal DNA, by means of a nested polymerase chain reaction (n-PCR) protocol. Twenty-two out of 50 serum samples (44%) were MAT positive. T gondii oocysts were not detected in any of the examined faecal samples. Eight out of 50 faecal specimens (16%) were n-PCR positive and sequencing of the bands was specific for T gondii. Detection by combination of the two methods was higher than single techniques and enhanced the detection of T gondii up to 48%. Our results suggest that the use of MAT plus PCR in faeces may be the best choice for diagnosis of feline toxoplasmosis. Further studies to ascertain the real infectivity of the copro-PCR positive subjects are required.

To assess the role of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) as a reservoir of leishmaniosis, 92 adult foxes of both genders (58 males and 34 females), shot during the regular hunting seasons in Central Italy, were examined. Blood samples were taken as well as samples from spleen, lymph nodes, and skin to investigate the presence of antibodies against Leishmania infantum and the presence of the parasite DNA in tissues, by means of a species-specific polymerase chain reaction, respectively. All tested sera were negative as well as skin samples. Forty eight animals (52.2%) had leishmania DNA in the lymph nodes and the splenic samples from eight of them (8.7%) scored positive also. The present report would indicate that foxes in an L. infantum medium-endemic area seem negligible reservoir for leishmania infection, even if more than 50% of them bear parasite DNA in their lymphatic tissue

ABSTRACT:We tested 191 sera of red foxes (Vulpes vulpes; 78 females and 113 males) for antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii using an indirect immunofluorescent test. Tissue samples of myocardium, lymph nodes, and brains from antibody-positive animals were tested for T. gondii DNA using specific PCR and processed for histopathology and immunohistochemistry (IHC) to detect T. gondii antigen. Of 192 (53.4%) antibody-positive animals, eight were positive by PCR on myocardium and one on brain. All DNA extracts were genotyped. Histopathology showed lesions characteristic of protozoan encephalitis; IHC did not show T. gondii antigen in examined tissues. The high antibody prevalence found in our study, which is the first in Italy, and the occurrence of polymorphic strains (combination of different type I and III alleles) divergent from typical T. gondii strains, suggests red foxes may be a sentinel of T. gondii in the environment.