Prevalence of Gastrointestinal Parasites in Stray Cats of İzmir

Abstract

Kedilerde gastrointestinal parazitler hayvan sağlığını ve refahını etkilemesinin yanında Toxoplasma gondii, Cryptosporidium spp., Isospora spp., Blastocystis sp., Toxocara spp. gibi bazı zoonozlar nedeniyle insan sağlığını da etkilemektedir. Bu nedenle, sokak kedilerinde gastrointestinal parazitlerin varlığının araştırılması hastalıkların sıklığını ortaya çıkarmak ve yayılmasını önlemek için oldukça önemlidir. Bu çalışmada İzmir'de yaşayan büyük bir sokak kedisi grubunda gastrointestinal parazitlerin sıklığının dışkı örneklerinin direkt mikroskobik incelenmesi ile belirlenmesi amaçlanmıştır. İzmir'in 5 farklı ilçesinde bulunan Veteriner Kliniklerinden toplam 465 dışkı örneği toplanmıştır. Mikroskobik inceleme için, tüm dışkı örnekleri santrifüj-sükroz yüzdürme metodu kullanılmıştır. Cryptosporidium spp. şüpheli dışkı örnekleri Kinyoun asit-hızlı boyama ile boyanmıştır. Sonuç olarak 465 kediden 73'ünün (% 15,6) Blastocystis sp., Isospora spp., Cryptosporidium spp., T. gondii, Toxocara spp., H. diminuta ve D. caninum türlerinden en az biri ile enfekte olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Sokak kedileri arasında Blastocystis sp. başıboş kedilerde en yaygın protozoon paraziti (% 10.5) olarak tespit edilmiştir. Sonuç olarak, sokak kedilerinin İzmir, Türkiye'de çeşitli parazit hastalıklarının insanlara ve hayvanlara yayılması için önemli bir kaynak olduğunu göstermektedir.

Keywords

• Blastocystis sp.
• Cryptosporidium spp.
• İzmir
• Sokak kedileri
• Toxocara spp.

Prevalence of Gastrointestinal Parasites in Stray Cats of İzmir

Abstract

Gastrointestinal parasites of cats can affect animal health and welfare, as well as human health because of some zoonotic parasites including Toxoplasma gondii, Cryptosporidium spp., Isospora spp., Blastocystis sp., and Toxocara spp. Therefore, it is fairly important to investigate the presence of gastrointestinal parasites in stray cats in order to reveal the frequency of parasite diseases and to prevent the spread of parasitic diseases. A total of 465 feces samples were collected from Veterinary Clinics located in 5 different districts of İzmir. For microscopic examination, all feces samples were processed by centrifugation-sucrose flotation. Cryptosporidium spp. suspected feces samples were stained by Kinyoun acid-fast staining. As a result, 73 of 465 (15.6%) cats were found to be infected with at least one of the following parasites; Blastocystis sp., Isospora spp., Cryptosporidium spp., T. gondii, Toxocara spp., H. diminuta and D. caninum. Among the studied stray cats, Blastocystis sp. was detected as the most prevalent protozoon parasite (10.5%) in stray cats. Overall, the results show that stray cats are a significant source for distribution of various parasite diseases to humans and animals in İzmir, Turkey.

Keywords

• Blastocystis sp.
• Cryptosporidium spp.
• İzmir
• Stray cats
• Toxocara spp.

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