Institute of Parasitology, Department of Pathobiology, University of Veterinary Medicine, A-1210 Vienna, Austria.
Institute of Microbiology, Department of Pathobiology, University of Veterinary Medicine, A-1210 Vienna, Austria.
Res Vet Sci. 2023 Nov;164:105022. doi: 10.1016/j.rvsc.2023.105022. Epub 2023 Sep 18.
Due to their close associations with humans, dogs and cats can be important reservoirs for zoonotic pathogens. In the current study 200 fecal samples of dogs (n = 70 samples) and cats (n = 130 samples) from animal shelters in Carinthia, southern Austria, were examined for the presence of parasites (fecal flotation and larval migration assay) and selected bacteria. Overall, 17.1% of the canine and 38.5% of the feline samples were positive for parasites (p < 0.001), most commonly Giardia duodenalis (dogs and cats), including potentially zoonotic genotypes revealed by multilocus genotyping, and Toxocara cati (cats). Cryptosporidium (C. felis), Cystoisospora spp. (dogs and cats), hookworms (dog), Trichuris (dog) Capillaria hepatica (cats), taeniids (cat), and Aelurostrongylus abstrusus (cat) were also found. Zoonotic bacteria were detected in 10.5% of the samples, Salmonella enterica (dogs), Campylobacter jejuni (dogs and cats) and Yersinia enterocolitica (cat) and were significantly associated with parasite infections in cats but not in dogs. Samples that were positive for several pathogens were common; especially G. duodenalis and T. cati were frequently found in association with each other, other parasites or bacteria. The spectrum of detected pathogens is comparable to that of other dog and cat populations in central Europe. However, since animals from shelters are frequently rehomed, diagnostic measures, appropriate hygiene and therapy as well as training of shelter staff are recommended to prevent zoonotic transmission of enteropathogens to staff or new owners. The presence of heteroxenic parasites, i.e. Aelurostrongylus abstrusus and Taenia taeniaeformis, and spurious excretion of Ca. hepatica in cats, indicates that these animals preyed on intermediate hosts, and that biosafety measures in pet shelters need to be evaluated for their efficacy in the prevention of pathogen transmission.
由于与人类的密切关系，狗和猫可以成为人畜共患病病原体的重要宿主。在目前的研究中，对来自奥地利南部卡林西亚动物收容所的 200 份狗（n=70 份样本）和猫（n=130 份样本）的粪便样本进行了寄生虫（粪便漂浮和幼虫迁移检测）和选定细菌的检测。总体而言，犬粪便样本中寄生虫阳性率为 17.1%（p<0.001），猫粪便样本中寄生虫阳性率为 38.5%（p<0.001），最常见的是犬和猫中的蓝氏贾第鞭毛虫（包括通过多位点基因分型揭示的潜在人畜共患病基因型）和猫栉首线虫。还发现了隐孢子虫（猫隐孢子虫）、等孢球虫（犬和猫）、钩虫（犬）、毛首线虫（犬）、肝毛细线虫（猫）、带科绦虫（猫）和猫弓首蛔虫（猫）。在 10.5%的样本中检测到了人畜共患病细菌，沙门氏菌（犬）、空肠弯曲菌（犬和猫）和小肠结肠炎耶尔森菌（猫），并且与猫的寄生虫感染显著相关，但与犬无关。同时感染多种病原体的样本很常见；特别是蓝氏贾第鞭毛虫和猫栉首线虫经常相互关联，或与其他寄生虫或细菌共同存在。检测到的病原体谱与中欧其他犬和猫种群相似。然而，由于收容所的动物经常被重新安置，因此建议采取诊断措施、适当的卫生和治疗措施以及对收容所工作人员进行培训，以防止人畜共患病病原体向工作人员或新主人传播。异宿主寄生虫（即猫弓首蛔虫和多房棘球绦虫）和猫肝毛细线虫的假性排泄表明这些动物捕食了中间宿主，需要评估宠物收容所的生物安全措施在预防病原体传播方面的效果。
