DOMINANT HELMINTHS AND HELMINTOZOONOSIS OF THE STRAY CATS IN MOSCOW MEGAPOLIS

Abstract

The purpose of the article was to determine the infestation with dominant helminths and helminthozoonosis of stray cats in the Moscow megapolis. Coproovoscopic examinations were conducted in the spring, summer and autumn of 2021. A total of 172 stray cats were examined, including 59 stray kittens under one year old. Infestation of stray cats with helminthozoonosis Toxocara cati, Toxascaris leonina, Dipylidium caninum and helminth Taenia spp. was revealed. In previous years, we conducted studies of circus and Zoo carnivores of the feliform (Felidae), which were infested with various parasites, including helminthozoonosis. With Toxocara cati (=T. mystax) were infested: circus cats with EI (extensiveness of invasion) =10%, lions with EI=25%, Siberian tigers with EI=41.6%, leopards with EI=50%, and with Toxascaris leonina – circus Amur tigers and lions with EI = 100% and with the maximum number of eggs of Toxascaris in the summer – more than 21 000 in 1 g of feces. Helminthozoonosis Toxocara cati, Toxascaris leonina: domestic, circus and stray cats can be a source of human disease (especially children) and most often in the larval form larva migrans viscerale. Toxocara cati reached its maximum value in kittens under one year old in autumn (EI = 39.1%), and in stray cats older than a year in spring (EI = 36%). Toxascaris leonina was not found in stray kittens under one year old, and in stray cats older than a year, the maximum invasion value reached in spring (EI=20%). Dipylidium caninum in stray kittens reached the maximum value of invasion in spring (EI=47.6%) and autumn (EI=43.5%), and in stray cats older than a year in autumn (EI=50%). Taenia spp. in stray kittens under one year old, the maximum value of infestation reached in summer (EI=6.7%), and in stray cats older than a year in summer (EI=17.6%). Parasitic diseases contribute to the weakening of the immunity of animals and create more favorable conditions for the infestation of animals with viral and bacterial infections. Therefore, the detection of helminths and helminthozoonosis of not only Zoo, circus, domestic representatives of the feliform (Felidae), but also homeless cats remains an urgent problem of healing and prevention from parasitic diseases, which was the purpose of our article.