Gastrointestinal Parasite Infection in Cats in Daegu, Republic of Korea, and Efficacy of Treatment Using Topical Emodepside/Praziquantel Formulation.

The purpose of this study was 2-fold: 1) to investigate the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasite infection in cats reared in Daegu, Republic of Korea and 2) to assess the efficacy and safety of a topical emodepside/praziquantel formulation for cats with parasitic infections. The gastrointestinal parasite infections were examined microscopically using the flotation method. Of 407 cats, 162 (39.8%) were infected by at least one gastrointestinal parasite, including Toxocara cati (63.0%), Toxascaris leonina (31.5%), Taenia taeniaeformis (3.7%), and Cystoisospora felis (1.9%). None of the infected animals had multiple infections. When the data were analyzed according to sex, age, and type of cat, stray cats showed statistically higher prevalence than companion cats (P<0.05). On the 5th day after treatment, no parasitic eggs were detected using microscopic examination. In addition, no adverse effects, such as abnormal behaviors and clinical symptoms, were observed in the cats treated with the drug. These results quantify the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites in cats in Daegu, Republic of Korea, and show that topical emodepside/praziquantel is a safe and effective choice for treating the parasitic infections in cats.

Salivary mucocele with osseous metaplasia in a dog.

A 4-year-old, male, dachshund was referred to a certain local veterinary hospital because of a soft and fluctuant swelling in the left upper cervical region. The swelling was surgically removed and appeared to be filled with bloody mucus. Grossly, the swelling was identified as salivary mucocele and showed small multifocal whitish ossified tissue on its surface. Microscopically, the wall of salivary mucocele appeared as granulation tissue surrounding mucin, which was composed of loose edematous and vascularized connective tissue containing chronic inflammatory cells such as lymphocytes, plasma cells and macrophages. Characteristically, present case had ossifying components formed by metaplastic spindle cells in the wall of salivary mucocele. Therefore, the present case was diagnosed as salivary mucocele with osseous metaplasia in a dog.

Multiple intestinal lymphomatous polyposis in a Jindo dog.

A male, 5-year-old Jindo dog underwent enterectomy and enteroanastomosis due to ileus of the intestine at a local veterinary hospital. Grossly, the excised intestine showed markedly thickened multinodular masses in the serosal layer of the upper part, and soft-to-firm, cream-colored neoplastic masses that displayed extensive nodular mucosal protuberances into the lumen. The neoplastic masses were filled with large round cells that were ovoid in shape and they had pale and/or hyperchromatic nuclei. The neoplastic cells had mainly infiltrated into the mucosal and submucosal layers, and they had diffusely invaded the muscular and serosal layers. Therefore, the diagnosis of canine multiple intestinal malignant lymphomatous polyposis was made based on the gross and histopathological findings. The origin of these tumor cells was determined to be B-cells since they were positive for anti-CD20.