Spirometra erinacei / S. erinaceieuropaei in a feral cat in Manawatu with chronic intermittent diarrhoea

Abstract

Spirometra has not been reported in New Zealand before but has been associated with gastrointestinal disease in cats in other parts of the world. It requires species targeted treatment to be eliminated effectively, and is zoonotic. Diagnosis could be difficult for clinicians who are not familiar with the parasite and its life cycle.

Genetic diversity of two mitochondrial DNA genes inSpirometra erinaceieuropaei(Cestoda: Diphyllobothridae) from Poland

“…Diphyllobothriid tapeworms (see Kuchta, Scholz, Brabec, & Bray, ) of the genus Spirometra Faust, Campbell & Kellogg, 1929 (Diphyllobothridae) are present in all continents except Antarctica and several species have been described worldwide: Spirometra mansoni Cobbold, 1882; Spirometra decipiens Diesing, 1850; Spirometra mansonoides Mueller, 1935; Spirometra ranarum Gastaldi, 1854; Spirometra erinaceieuropaei Rudolphi, 1819; Spirometra theileri Baer, 1924; and Spirometra proliferum Iijima, 1905 (e.g., Berger, Skerratt, Zhu, Young, & Speare, ; Conboy, ; Dybing, Fleming, & Adams, ; Jeon, Huh, Sohn, Chai, & Eom, ; Kołodziej‐Sobocińska & Miniuk, ; Oda et al, ; Petrigh, Scioscia, Denegri, & Fugassa, ; Ugarte et al, ; Wang et al, ).…”

First Clinical Cases of Spirometrosis in Two Cats in Korea

“…Previous studies conducted in various countries have reported sparganosis in cats [ 7 , 10 , 19 ]. However, there are limited reports on the clinical cases of spirometrosis in cats [ 13 ]. Spirometrosis is known to cause gastrointestinal symptoms, including vomiting, diarrhea, and weight loss.…”

“…Spirometrosis is known to cause gastrointestinal symptoms, including vomiting, diarrhea, and weight loss. However, not all infected cats show clinical symptoms [ 10 , 11 , 13 ]. In our cases, the cat in Case 1 was initially diagnosed as having intestinal bowel disease, which has clinical symptoms similar to those of spirometrosis.…”

“…There has been a debate on the species classification of Spirometra spp. [3,[11][12][13]. Traditionally, species classification is achieved by evaluating the shape and number of uterine coils of adult worms.…”

“…Additionally, without significant consideration of morphological or molecular analysis, many Spirometra species have been recorded as S. erinaceieuropaei , which makes it difficult to determine the regional distribution of Spirometra spp. [ 8 , 9 , 13 , 15 , 16 ]. Owing to advances in molecular techniques, recent studies have attempted to identify Spirometra spp.…”