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

CASE HISTORY: A feral cat captured in the Manawatu region of New Zealand was treated for worms and fleas, and kept confined in a metabolic cage. It showed good appetite and weight gain but had intermittent watery, yellow diarrhoea. CLINICAL FINDINGS: Clinical examination under sedation was unremarka...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:New Zealand veterinary journal 2005-10, Vol.53 (5), p.347-351
Main Authors: Ugarte, CE, Thomas, DG, Gasser, RB, Hu, M, Scott, I, Collett, MG
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Animals, Wild - parasitology
Base Sequence
Cat Diseases - diagnosis
Cat Diseases - parasitology
Cats
Cestode Infections - diagnosis
Cestode Infections - parasitology
Cestode Infections - veterinary
Chronic Disease
Diarrhea - diagnosis
Diarrhea - parasitology
Diarrhea - veterinary
diarrhoea
Diseases
DNA, Helminth - analysis
Fatal Outcome
feline gastrointestinal parasites
Genotype
Sequence Alignment - veterinary
sparganosis
Spirometra
Spirometra - classification
Spirometra - genetics
Spirometra - isolation & purification
tapeworms
Veterinary medicine
zoonosis
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Summary:CASE HISTORY: A feral cat captured in the Manawatu region of New Zealand was treated for worms and fleas, and kept confined in a metabolic cage. It showed good appetite and weight gain but had intermittent watery, yellow diarrhoea. CLINICAL FINDINGS: Clinical examination under sedation was unremarkable and routine blood tests showed no significant abnormalities. The cat was negative for feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline leukaemia virus (FeLV). Different canned cat foods did not alter the course of the diarrhoea, and the cat was euthanised 6 months after capture. At necropsy, two sections of adult Spirometra tapeworms were found in the jejunum and typical Spirometra eggs were found in colonic contents. Molecular identification of the parasite was undertaken, using the cytochrome- c oxidase subunit-1 gene (cox1) sequence. DIAGNOSIS: Chronic intermittent diarrhoea associated with Spirometra erinacei / S. erinaceieuropaei infection. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: 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 speciestargeted treatment to be eliminated effectively, and is zoonotic. Diagnosis could be diffi cult for clinicians who are not familiar with the parasite and its life cycle.
ISSN:0048-0169
1176-0710
1176-0710
DOI:10.1080/00480169.2005.36573