Case report: Severe and progressive bronchopneumonia by Aelurostrongylus abstrusus in an adopted stray cat from Portugal

Abstract

The cat lungworm Aelurostrongylus abstrusus is the most common respiratory parasite of cats. This nematode has a worldwide distribution and is considered an emerging pathogen. Respiratory signs overlap with those of other pathologies, and some agents which co-exist in the same animal may concur in the clinical scenario. Nonetheless, feline verminous bronchopneumonia is underestimated by practitioners and is not commonly included in differential diagnosis in routine practice. The present report describes the clinical presentation of a 6-month old stray cat from central Portugal, which developed respiratory distress. A clinical improvement of lower respiratory signs was achieved after a course of doxycycline and prednisolone course. However, a relapse with a progressive decline in the respiratory functions occurred two weeks later. A further investigation led to the identification of an A. abstrusus infection that was treated with fenbendazole. Ten days after the treatment the cat became negative for A. abstrusus and further analyses performed in the followings 2 months showed improvement of the animal's pulmonary condition and negative results at the faecal examinations. These findings indicate that veterinarians should include aelurostrongylosis in the differential diagnosis of feline respiratory distress even in non-endemic regions and should perform appropriate diagnostics procedures in the presence of compatible signs.

Efficacy of Bravecto® Plus spot-on solution for cats (280 mg/ml fluralaner and 14 mg/ml moxidectin) for the prevention of aelurostrongylosis in experimentally infected cats

“…2 MSD Animal Health Innovation GmbH, Schwabenheim, Germany. 3 Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Teramo, Teramo, Italy.…”

“…The cat lungworm Aelurostrongylus abstrusus Railliet, 1898 (Nematoda, Metastrongyloidea) causes mild to severe respiratory disease in cats with clinical signs such as coughing, sneezing, nasal discharge, panting, respiratory sounds and dyspnoea [ 1 – 3 ] and occasionally leads to death [ 4 ]. However, patent infections may be also detected during routine faecal examination in sub-clinically infected cats [ 2 , 5 , 6 ].…”

First Case of Clinical Cat Aelurostrongylosis in the Brazilian Amazon: Clinical and Molecular Insights

“…Over time, aelurostrongylosis has been recorded mostly from Europe in both domestic [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ] and wild [ 16 , 17 , 18 ] felines. Epizootiological information from other territories are patchy and limited, though the presence of the parasite is known for instance, in South Africa [ 19 ], Australia [ 20 ] and North [ 21 , 22 ] and Insular Americas [ 23 ].…”

Controlled field study evaluating the clinical efficacy of a topical formulation containing emodepside and praziquantel in the treatment of natural cat aelurostrongylosis

“…Also, auscultation of the thorax usually reveals increased vesicular breath sounds, wheezing or crackles 12. Severe infections, especially in kittens and immunocompromised cats, can cause more serious clinical signs, including severe dyspnoea and occasionally death 13 14…”