Wierzbowska Izabela A, Kornaś Sławomir, Piontek Aleksandra M, Rola Kaja
Institute of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biology of Jagiellonian University, 7 Gronostajowa Str., 30-387 Kraków, Poland.
Faculty of Animal Breeding and Biology, University of Agriculture in Kraków, 24/28 Mickiewicza Av., 30-059 Kraków, Poland.
Animals (Basel). 2020 Apr 24;10(4):748. doi: 10.3390/ani10040748.
Growing urbanization leads to an increased risk of parasite spread in densely inhabited areas. Free-ranging cats can be locally numerous and come into frequent contact with both wildlife and humans. Cats are thus expected to contribute to parasitic disease transmission. In our study, we investigated the prevalence of endoparasites in free ranging cats in urban areas of Kraków city, based on necropsy of road-killed cats in relation to sex and diet of cat, season and habitat type. We found that 62% of 81 cats were infected with endoparasites with being the most prevalent. In total, we identified seven parasite species. The number of parasite species was higher in suburban habitats and aside from the prevalence of all parasites was higher in cats from suburban areas than in the individuals living in the city urban core. The prey of examined cats included mostly rodents, followed by soricomorphs and birds, which can all serve as paratenic hosts. Based on our results, we suggest that cats in urban areas should be considered as a serious potential zoonotic threat. Implementation of proper veterinary control and wider education on the topic is recommended.
城市化进程的加快导致寄生虫在人口密集地区传播的风险增加。散养猫在当地数量众多，且经常与野生动物和人类接触。因此，猫被认为会促进寄生虫病的传播。在我们的研究中，我们基于对城市道路上死亡猫尸的解剖，研究了克拉科夫市市区散养猫体内寄生虫的流行情况，分析了猫的性别、饮食、季节和栖息地类型与寄生虫感染的关系。我们发现，81只猫中有62%感染了体内寄生虫，其中 最为常见。我们总共鉴定出了7种寄生虫。郊区栖息地的猫体内寄生虫种类更多，除了 之外，郊区猫体内所有寄生虫的感染率都高于城市核心区域的猫。被检查猫的猎物主要是啮齿动物，其次是鼩鼱目动物和鸟类，这些动物都可能作为转续宿主。基于我们的研究结果，我们建议城市中的猫应被视为一种严重的潜在人畜共患病威胁。建议实施适当的兽医管控并就该主题进行更广泛的教育。
