117 - Nematode Infections of the Respiratory Tract

Abstract

Aelurostrongylusabstrusus Infection (Aelurostrongylosis)•First Described: First recovered from a cat in 1890, the cat lungworm was described and named as Strongylus abstrusus by Railliet in France in 1898 and renamed Aelurostrongylus abstrusus by Cameron in 1927.•Causes: Aelurostrongylus abstrusus (cat lungworm). Nematode in the superfamily Metastrongyloidea, family Angiostrongylidae.•Affected Hosts: Adult worms occur in the terminal bronchioles and alveolar ducts in the lungs of cats and some wild felids.•Intermediate Hosts: Terrestrial gastropods (slugs and land snails) serve as intermediate hosts. Various amphibians, birds, reptiles, and rodents can serve as paratenic hosts.•Geographic Distribution: Endemic throughout the world and reported from all continents except Antarctica.•Route of Transmission: Cats may acquire infection by the ingestion of infective third-stage larvae in the tissues of the terrestrial gastropod (slugs, land snails) intermediate hosts; however, transmission probably more commonly occurs by the ingestion of infected paratenic hosts (amphibians, birds, reptiles, rodents). Infection may also occur through ingestion of infective third-stage larvae released into the environment by infected gastropods.•Major Clinical Signs: Cough, nasal discharge, tachypnea, and dyspnea. Weight loss and emaciation may occur in some cases. Infections can be fatal.•Differential Diagnoses: Allergic respiratory disease, bacterial or viral pneumonia or infection with lungfluke (Paragonimus kellicotti), other metastrongyloids (Oslerus rostratus, Troglostrongylus spp.), or the capillarid nematode Eucoleus aerophilus.•Human Health Significance: There are no reports of zoonotic infection; A. abstrusus is not considered a human health concern.