Retrospective Study of Pneumony by Aelurostrongylus abstrusus in Cats

Abstract

Background: Aelurostrongylus abstrusus is a lungworm of cats with worldwide distribution. The adult forms of this parasite live in terminal bronchioles and alveoli, and can cause an asymptomatic disease or predominantly respiratory clinical signs, which can be occasionally cause of death. The aim of this study is to describe the epidemiological and pathological findings of infection by A. abstrusus through a necropsy retrospective study. Materials, Methods & Results: the necropsy records from the Department of Veterinary Pathology of the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul were recovered and cats diagnosed with lungworm by Aelurostrongylus abstrusus were selected since January 1998 until December 2015. General data, such as age, sex, breed, clinical signs, and macroscopic lesions, were analyzed and compiled. The histological slides were reviewed by optical microscopy and detailed the microscopic aspects. In this study, were identified 22 cats with varying degrees of lungworm by A. abstrusus, and in 45.5% of the cases, this was the cause of death. Most part of the cats were mixed breed (19/22), and there were no sex predisposition. The age of the cats ranged from four months to 11 years old, and the most frequent age group was three to six years, with nine cases reported. In 37.5% of the cases were reported respiratory clinical signs, such as dyspnea and nasal discharge, and in 62.5%, clinical signs were not specific. The gross findings of the lungs ranged from reddish, or yellowish or white areas, and presence of multiples small, firm, and whitish nodules, measuring more than two centimeters in diameter, with multifocal distribution in the lung surface. Histologically, there was varied amount of parasites in different stages in the alveolar spaces, associated with the inflammatory infiltrate composed of lymphocytes, plasma cells, macrophages, neutrophils and occasional multinucleated giant cells, and hypertrophy and hyperplasia of the pulmonary smooth muscle and the wall of the arteries. Discussion: Aelurostrongylus abstrusus is the principal parasite of lung of cats, with worldwide distribution. In this study, we observed that 40.9% of cases were reported as of 2012, and may be due to a larger propagation of definitive intermediate and paratenic hosts, climate changes and/or the increase of rearing cats, and the consequent increase of hospital routine. Agreeing with the others authors, there is no sex predilection, but differ in the age group, in to the present study, the most frequent age group was between "3 to 6 years" of age (52.9%). The gross findings observed were similar to those described by other authors. Histologically was observed varied amount of parasites, and the degree of inflammatory infiltrate were very similar, but with a slight difference in discrete infiltration (36.4%). Others researchers have identified predominantly severe inflammatory infiltrate (57.9%). Hypertrophy and hyperplasia of pulmonary smooth muscle and the wall of the arteries was moderate (50%), however, in previ...

Comparative analysis of diagnostic methods and risk factors for Aelurostrongylus abstrusus infection in brazilian cats

“…In Brazil, several states have reported this parasite, including Minas Gerais (Mundim et al 2004), Mato Grosso (Ramos et al 2013), Goiás (Campos et al 1974), Rio de Janeiro (Scofield et al 2005; Ferreira et al 2007), São Paulo (Fenerich et al 1975; Matsui et al 2018), and Rio Grande do Sul (Ehlers et al 2013; Rigão et al 2019; Ferraz et al 2020). Since this lungworm was confirmed as an important cause of death in cats in our region (Pereira et al 2017), we were motivated to study its occurrence among our patients presented with cough or evidence of bronchopulmonary disease on radiographic evaluation.…”

“…It is a cosmopolitan disease and, although most cats remain subclinically infected or show mild disease (Traversa and Di Cesare 2013, 2016), intense chronic cough, dyspnea, tachypnea, wheezing, severe respiratory distress, and death may occur in severely parasitized cats (Traversa and Di Cesare 2013; Vezzosi et al 2020). A necropsy-based retrospective study conducted in Brazil showed that 22 (1.5%) of 1,489 cats were parasitized by A. abstrusus and presented different disease degrees, and this was the cause of death in 45.5% of the affected cats (Pereira et al 2017).…”

Infection by Angiostrongylus cantonensis in both humans and the snail Achatina (Lissachatina) fulica in the city of Macapá, in the Amazon Region of Brazil

“…The discovery of A. abstrusus parasitising A. fulica in Macapá serves as an alert for veterinary medicine, given that this nematode species is a lungworm of cats with a worldwide distribution, (28) including Brazil. (23,29,30) The parasite infection rate recorded in A. fulica in the present study (94.7%, that is, 36 of the 38 snails examined were infected) was higher than those recorded in previous studies, (24) which highlights the potential role of this exotic species in the transmission of A. cantonensis and A. abstrusus both of veterinary and public health importance.…”