Fernandez C, Chikweto A, Mofya S, Lanum L, Flynn P, Burnett J P, Doherty D, Sharma R N
Animal Emergency Services, Commack, NY 11725, USA.
J Helminthol. 2010 Dec;84(4):390-3. doi: 10.1017/S0022149X10000027. Epub 2010 Feb 10.
A study to determine the seroprevalence of Dirofilaria immitis was carried out in feral cats in Grenada. Of the 137 feral cats tested for circulating antibodies (IgG; lateral-flow immunoassay) and circulating antigens (Ag; enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay), 8% (95% confidence interval (CI) 3.5-12.5%) were antibody positive and 5.1% (95% CI 1.4-8.8%) were antigen positive. No significant difference between cats aged>1 to 4 years and cats less than 1 year of age was found (P>0.05, χ²). There was also no significant difference (P>0.05, χ²) between male and female cats. Dirofilaria immitis prevalence is relatively high in the feral cat population of Grenada. Evidence of D. immitis infection in feral cats coupled with the endemic nature of heartworm disease in dogs in Grenada leads us to suggest the introduction of heartworm prophylaxis in cats. To the authors' knowledge, this serological evidence of heartworm infection in feral cats in Grenada is the first report from the Caribbean region.
在格林纳达对野生猫进行了一项确定犬恶丝虫血清流行率的研究。在137只接受循环抗体（IgG；侧向流动免疫测定）和循环抗原（Ag；酶联免疫吸附测定）检测的野生猫中，8%（95%置信区间（CI）3.5 - 12.5%）抗体呈阳性，5.1%（95%CI 1.4 - 8.8%）抗原呈阳性。未发现1岁以上至4岁的猫与小于1岁的猫之间存在显著差异（P>0.05，χ²）。雄性猫和雌性猫之间也没有显著差异（P>0.05，χ²）。在格林纳达的野生猫种群中，犬恶丝虫的流行率相对较高。野生猫中犬恶丝虫感染的证据，再加上格林纳达犬类心丝虫病的地方性流行特性，促使我们建议对猫采取心丝虫预防措施。据作者所知，格林纳达野生猫中心丝虫感染的这一血清学证据是加勒比地区的首次报告。
