Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cat has a growing face mass - could it be sparganosis?
By Tokiwa, Toshihiro et al.·Published in BMC veterinary research·2024·Nippon Veterinary and Life Science University, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Aberrant sparganosis in cat caused by Spirometra mansoni (Cestoda: Diphyllobothriidae): a case report.
Plain-English summary
A 9-year-old male domestic cat was brought to the vet with a growing mass on the right side of its face that had been getting larger over the past month. After examining the tissue, the vet discovered that the mass was caused by a rare infection from a type of tapeworm called Spirometra mansoni. This condition, known as proliferative sparganosis, is unusual in cats, which are typically hosts for this parasite. The cat underwent surgery to remove the mass, and the specific type of worm was confirmed through advanced testing.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: Sparganosis is a rare zoonotic disease caused by plerocercoid larvae of the genera Spirometra or Sparganum (Cestoda: Diphyllobothriidae). The larvae of Spirometra generally do not undergo asexual reproduction, whereas those of Sparganum can induce proliferative lesions in infected tissues. This paper presents an unusual case of proliferative sparganosis due to infection with Spirometra mansoni in a cat, normally considered a definitive host of the species. CASE PRESENTATION: A 9-year-old male domestic cat was presented with a mass on the right side of the face that underwent progressive enlargement for 1 month. The morphological and histopathological examinations revealed multiple asexual proliferative cestode larvae in the lesions, suggestive of proliferative sparganosis. Next-generation sequencing analysis of formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded specimens of surgically excised tissue indicated that the worm was Spirometra mansoni. CONCLUSION: Although S. mansoni a common tapeworm species found in the small intestine of domestic cats and dogs in Japan, proliferative sparganosis is extremely rare. This is the first confirmed case of proliferative sparganosis due to infection with S. mansoni in cat.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38643141/