Severe Verminous Pneumonia Caused by Natural Mixed Infection with Aelurostrongylus abstrusus and Angiostrongylus chabaudi in a European Wildcat from Western Balkan Area.

AIMS: Aelurostrongylus abstrusus (Railliet, 1898) and Angiostrongylus chabaudi (Biocca, 1957) are important cardiopulmonary metastrongyloids in felids. This case report describes, for the first time, a natural and patent mixed infection caused by A. abstrusus and A. chabaudi in a European wildcat (Felis silvestris silvestris) from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Most important, this is a rare report of fatal parasitism in wildlife, involving a severe verminous bronchopneumonia and gastrointestinal nematode and cestode infection with Toxocara cati, Taenia taeniaeformis, Aonchotheca putorii, and Ancylostoma spp. RESULTS: Emphasis is set to detailed description of granulomatous, interstitial verminous bronchopneumonia, morphological description of A. abstrusus and A. chabaudi, and molecular confirmation of diagnosis by triplex PCR. CONCLUSION: The data provided in this study contribute to the knowledge on the epizootiology and pathological effect of these neglected metastrongyloids in European wildcat.

First evidence of the European wildcat (Felis silvestris silvestris) as definitive host of Angiostrongylus chabaudi.

Angiostrongylus chabaudi (Strongylida, Angiostrongylidae) is a parasitic nematode described for the first time last century from the pulmonary arteries of six European wildcats (Felis silvestris silvestris) in central Italy. Since then, this parasite remained practically unknown until recently, when immature A. chabaudi have been reported from one wildcat in Germany and two domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus) in Italy. The present report describes the first record of A. chabaudi in Greece and, most importantly, the first known case of patent infection by A. chabaudi. The necropsy of a road-killed F. s. silvestris found near the lake Kerkini, in the municipality of Serres (Macedonia, Greece), revealed the presence of nematodes of both sexes in the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery of the heart. All parasites were mature adults and numerous eggs were present in the uteruses of females. The morphological characteristics of the parasites were consistent with those of A. chabaudi. Moreover, Angiostrongylus-like first stage larvae (L1) were present in the faeces of the animal that was negative for any other cardio-pulmonary parasite. Genetic examination of adult parasites and L1 confirmed the morphological identification as A. chabaudi. Histopathological examination of the lungs showed severe, multifocal to coalescing, chronic, interstitial granulomatous pneumonia due to the presence of adult parasites, larvae and eggs. These findings demonstrate for the first unequivocal time that this nematode reproduces in the European wildcat which should be ultimately considered a definitive host of A. chabaudi. Finally, the L1 of A. chabaudi are described here for the first time, opening new prospects for further studies on this neglected parasite.

Genetic characterisation of Toxoplasma gondii isolates from European beavers (Castor fiber) and European wildcats (Felis silvestris silvestris).

Six free-ranging European beavers (Castor fiber) from Berlin greater metropolitan area and twelve European wildcats (Felis silvestris silvestris) originating from the German Federal State of Saxony-Anhalt were found dead and their carcasses were submitted for necropsy. Brain and lung samples were analysed for the presence of Toxoplasma gondii DNA. Histo-pathologic analysis of one beaver revealed several cyst-like protozoal structures in parts of the brain. Tissue DNA isolated from all animal samples was analysed by a specific T. gondii-PCR. Two beavers and four wildcats tested T. gondii-positive. DNA of the parasites was further analysed by PCR-RFLP typing using nine markers (nSAG2, SAG3, BTUB, GRA6, c22-8, c29-2, L358, PK1 and Apico). Only T. gondii type II alleles were detected, except for the Apico locus, where type I alleles were observed in two isolates from beavers and in three from wild cats. The results of this study indicate that type II T. gondii (including type II variant strain) is the most common genotype infecting wildcats and beavers from Germany.

Toxoplasmosis in Sand cats (Felis margarita) and other animals in the Breeding Centre for Endangered Arabian Wildlife in the United Arab Emirates and Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation, the State of Qatar.

The Sand cat (Felis margarita) is a small-sized felid found in sand and stone deserts ranging from the north of Africa to Asia, with the Arabian Peninsula as its centre of distribution. The Sand cat captive breeding program at the Breeding Centre for Endangered Arabian Wildlife (BCEAW), Sharjah, UAE, has experienced high newborn mortality rates, and congenital toxoplasmosis was recently recognized as one of the causes of this mortality. In the present study, one 18-month-old Sand cat (FM019) died of acute toxoplasmosis-associated hepatitis and pneumonitis acquired after birth; Toxoplasma gondii was demonstrated in histological sections which reacted with T. gondii polyclonal antibodies by immunohistochemistry (IHC). T. gondii DNA was found by PCR of extracted DNA from liver and lung tissues of this cat. Antibodies to T. gondii were found in serum examined in 1:1600 dilution in the modified agglutination test (MAT); its 2-year-old cage mate seroconverted (MAT titer 1:3200) at the same time. Another Sand cat (FM017) was euthanized because of ill health when 3 years old; its MAT titer was >1:3200, and T. gondii tissue cysts were found in brain, heart, ocular muscles and skeletal muscle, confirmed by IHC. Viable T. gondii was isolated by bioassays in mice inoculated with tissues of another chronically infected Sand cat (FM002); T. gondii was not found in histological sections of this cat. T. gondii antibodies were found in several species of animals tested, notably in 49 of 57 wild felids at BCEAW. A 7-year-old Sand cat (3657) from Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation (AWWP), Doha, State of Qatar died of acute visceral toxoplasmosis with demonstrable T. gondii tachyzoites by IHC, and T. gondii DNA by PCR, and a MAT titer of >3200. T. gondii antibodies were found in 21 of 27 of wild felids at AWWP. PCR-RFLP genotyping at 10 genetic loci revealed that these T. gondii isolates from Sand cat (FM002 and FM019) at BCEAW have an atypical genotype, which was previously reported in T. gondii isolates of dogs from Sri Lanka. The genotype from the cat from AWWP (3657) is a genetic Type II strain with a Type I allele at locus Apico. This is the first report of genetic characterization of T. gondii isolates from Middle East.