Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cryptosporidium felis and Giardia found in young cats in colony
By Fayer, Ronald et al.·Published in Veterinary parasitology·2006·Animal and Natural Resources Institute, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Detection of Cryptosporidium felis and Giardia duodenalis Assemblage F in a cat colony.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
Eighteen young cats, aged 3 to 6 months, were found to be infected with Cryptosporidium felis, a parasite that can be passed to humans, even though none showed any signs of illness like diarrhea. Over a period of 22 days, all the cats excreted the parasite in their feces, and eight of them also had another parasite called Giardia duodenalis, which is specific to cats. The study highlights the importance of hygiene and caution for anyone handling cats, as these infections can be present without visible symptoms.
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Abstract
Eighteen cats, 3-6 months of age, bred and housed in a closed colony, were transferred from that colony and placed in separate stainless steel cages in a building designed for housing animals. At daily intervals, feces were collected from the litter pans in each cage, pans and cages were cleaned, and fresh food and water were provided. Beginning 4 weeks after the transfer, oocysts of Cryptosporidium were detected in the feces of two cats by brightfield microscopy. For the following 21 days, with minor exceptions, feces from each cat were collected daily and examined by immunofluorescence microscopy and by molecular methods that included DNA extraction, 18S rDNA gene amplification, and DNA sequence analysis. Within those 22 days, every cat was found to be infected with Cryptosporidium felis and excreted oocysts for 6-18 days. Eight of these 18 cats also excreted cysts of Giardia duodenalis Assemblage F, a genotype found only in cats. Six Giardia infections were concurrent during part of the patency with C. felis infections. Neither diarrhea nor other signs of illness were observed in any of the cats during this time. Because C. felis is zoonotic these findings suggest that care should be taken by veterinary health care providers and others in close contact with cats, even when cats appear healthy and asymptomatic.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16621289/