Troglostrongylus brevior in an Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) from Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

BackgroundIn the past few years the interest of the scientific community on lungworms of the genus Troglostrongylus has grown due to the increased number of unexpected cases of infections with Troglostrongylus brevior in domestic cats from Mediterranean Europe, likely due to a spill-over from wild reservoirs. Thus, there is a merit to increase our knowledge on the occurrence of this parasite in felids from European regions. The present paper describes lung lesions associated with T. brevior infection in the endangered Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) from Bosnia and Herzegovina.FindingsThe carcass of an illegally killed 3-year-old male Eurasian lynx was presented for necropsy at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina). Grossly, multiple, multinodular, consolidated and firm, tan to grey areas, occupying the caudal third of caudal lung lobes, were observed. At cut section, the catarrhal fluid was draining from the airways. Larvae of T. brevior were found in tracheal scraping. The histopathological examination revealed multifocal to coalescing areas, centered on bronchi and bronchioles, and expanded alveoli filled with necrotic debris, degenerated inflammatory cells, mostly neutrophils and macrophages, and multiple cross sections of parasite larvae and thin-walled morulated eggs of lungworms. The paraffin-embedded lung samples were molecularly positive for T. brevior.ConclusionThis paper describes the first record of T. brevior in the Eurasian lynx and the associated host lung pathology. Given its pathogenic potential and the lack of data on troglostrongylosis in lynx populations, the occurrence and impact of Troglostrongylus spp. on wildlife health as well as the role of L. lynx as reservoir of infection for other felids, should be further investigated.

Ascarid infection in wild Amur tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) in China

“…Then, a hypothesis, T. cati transmitted in wild tigers with a special route including paratenic hosts participating was deduced. Actually, the parasites of wild carnivores take the prey as the paratenic host to spread have been showed [32][33][34], and it Note: * P < 0.1; n/g: the number of eggs/gram faeces is a more reasonable transmission way as the carnivore hosts always have large habits and the oral-faecal transmitting route is impractical in the field. If the speculation we conducted is certified in the future, it will benefit the understanding how T. cati spreads in wild big felines efficiently.…”

First case of a natural infection in a domestic cat (Felis catus) with the canid heart worm Angiostrongylus vasorum

“…Troglostrongylus sp. was described in the twenties (Vevers, 1923) and then neglected until recently, when the rediscovery of this parasite in single European countries such as Spain (Jefferies et al, 2010), Italy (Brianti et al, 2012;, Greece (Diakou et al, 2014) and Bosnia-Herzegovina (Alic et al, 2015) was reported. The adult nematodes of the latter can be easily differentiated from A. abstrusus: Troglostrongylus sp.…”

Troglostrongylus brevior: a new parasite for Romania

“…Troglostrongylus brevior was described six decades ago in the bronchi of F. s. lybica and F. chaus in Palestine and reported more recently in domestic cats from Spain and Italy [ 3 , 5 , 6 ]. Since then, T. brevior has been found in recent years in domestic cats in Italy [ 7 ], Greece [ 8 ], Bulgaria [ 7 ], Spain [ 9 ], Cyprus [ 10 ], but also in Lynx lynx in Bosnia and Herzegovina [ 11 ]. The two species, T. brevior and Ae.…”