Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Neurological paralysis in three cats from southern Chile
By Moroni, M et al.·Published in Veterinary parasitology·2012·Instituto de Patologí·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Gurltia paralysans (Wolffhügel, 1933): description of adults and additional case reports of neurological diseases in three domestic cats from southern Chile.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
Three domestic cats from southern Chile were brought in with chronic weakness in their back legs, known as paraparesis or paraplegia. Veterinarians discovered that these cats were infected with a rare parasite called Gurltia paralysans, which was causing damage to their spinal cord. The cats were treated for the infection, but the abstract does not specify the exact treatment or outcomes for these cases. If your cat is showing signs of weakness or difficulty moving, it’s important to consult your veterinarian for a proper diagnosis and treatment plan.
People also search for: cat weakness back legs · cat spinal cord infection · Gurltia paralysans treatment
Abstract
Adults of Gurltia paralysans were obtained from veins of the spinal cord subarachnoid space from three domestic cats presenting with chronic paraparesis/paraplegia from rural areas of southern Chile. Four adult nematodes were collected (2 males and 2 females) were recovered from cat 1, 14 adult nematodes (12 females and 2 males) from cat 2, and 12 nematodes (10 females and 2 males) were collected from cat 3. Parasite induced lesions that compromised subarachnoid vein microvasculature at the thoracic, lumbar, sacral spinal cord segments extending to conus medularis. Female nematodes measured 25 mm long (range=25-30 mm) and 0.1mm wide. Male measured a mean of 16 mm length (range=13-18 mm) with a body diameter of 0.1mm (range=0.08-0.15 mm). The present study described structural features of G. paralysans, a rare parasite first reported in the 1930s, and provides additional reports on associated clinical and pathological findings in naturally infected domestic cats.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21944845/