Laboratory of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece.
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Teaching Veterinary Hospital, University of Teramo, 64100 Teramo, Italy.
Vet Parasitol Reg Stud Reports. 2024 Jan;47:100949. doi: 10.1016/j.vprsr.2023.100949. Epub 2023 Nov 4.
Parasitic diseases caused by uncommonly diagnosed parasites may pose a threat to companion animals' health in urban environments where they are least expected. The pentastomid Linguatula serrata (tongue worm) and the capillarid Pearsonema plica (syn. Capillaria plica) are parasites with an indirect life cycle, infecting both domestic and wild carnivores. The present report describes two cases: the first one of urinary capillariosis and the other of linguatulosis, in two dogs living in the urban environment of Athens, Greece. In the case of capillariosis, the dog never lived out of the city, so it was presumably infected in the urban environment. On the contrary, in the case of linguatulosis, the dog was adopted at a young age from a rural environment but remained asymptomatic for several months while living in the city. Both dogs had mild symptoms, compatible with these infections. Urinary capillariosis and linguatulosis are uncommon in owned, pet dogs, living in cities due to epizootiological characteristics, i.e. need for wildlife reservoir for P. plica and consumption of raw infected viscera for L. serrata. Different factors contribute to the fact that such infections may occur in scenarios where they are least expected. Recent studies show a progressive worldwide increase in the number of uncommon parasitoses in pet animals, that in some cases, such as linguatulosis, are of zoonotic relevance. Regular parasitological examinations and preventive antiparasitic schemes are necessary in order to treat and prevent infections in pet animals and safeguard the health of both animals and humans under the concept of One Health.
在城市环境中，人们最意想不到的地方，那些罕见寄生虫引起的寄生虫病可能会对伴侣动物的健康构成威胁。间接生活史的五角形五角形颚口线虫（舌形虫）和毛首目 Pearsonema plica（同 Capillaria plica）是感染家养和野生食肉动物的寄生虫。本报告描述了 2 例病例：第一例是在希腊雅典城市环境中生活的 2 只犬的尿 capillary 病，另 1 例是 linguatulosis。在 capillary 病的情况下，这只狗从未离开过城市，因此它可能是在城市环境中感染的。相反，在 linguatulosis 的情况下，这只狗在年轻时从农村环境中被收养，但在城市生活的几个月里一直没有症状。这两只狗都有轻微的症状，与这些感染相符。由于流行病学特征，即 P. plica 需要野生动物宿主，L. serrata 需要食用受感染的生内脏，因此在城市中饲养的宠物犬中，尿 capillary 病和 linguatulosis 并不常见。由于不同的因素，这些感染可能会在最意想不到的情况下发生。最近的研究表明，宠物动物中罕见寄生虫病的数量在全球范围内呈渐进式增加，在某些情况下，如 linguatulosis，具有动物源性。为了治疗和预防宠物动物的感染，并在“同一健康”的概念下保护动物和人类的健康，有必要定期进行寄生虫学检查和预防性驱虫方案。
