Prevalence and risk factors for patent Toxocara infections in cats and cat owners’ attitude towards deworming

R Nijsse,J A Wagenaar,H W Ploeger,L Mughini-Gras

doi:10.1007/s00436-016-5242-8

R Nijsse, J A Wagenaar + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-016-5242-8

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Abstract

The prevalence of and risk factors for shedding Toxocara eggs in cats older than 6 months were determined by examining 670 faecal samples collected in 4 cross-sectional studies in the Netherlands. Additionally, cat owners provided information on their attitude towards routine deworming. Samples were examined using the centrifugal sedimentation flotation method. Overall Toxocara prevalence was 7.2 %. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that young age and living in rural areas were significant risk factors for shedding Toxocara eggs. Moreover, the more time a cat was allowed to roam outdoors, the higher was its risk to shed Toxocara as compared to cats with no outdoor access at all. For 199 cats (81.6 % of cats subjected to a deworming regimen) owners provided the reason for treatment. The main reason for routine deworming (80.4 %) concerned the cat’s health and only 10.6 % of the cats were treated for public health reasons. Moreover, the generally advocated four-times-a-year deworming advice was applied on only 24.5 % of cats. We concluded that free roaming is a key factor in the acquisition of patent Toxocara infections leading to the environmental contamination with Toxocara eggs. Additionally, the knowledge of cat owners is still insufficient to expect them to make sound decisions on routine deworming.

Highlights

Cats are among the most common pets worldwide, and in a country like the Netherlands, their estimated number is almost twice as large as that of dogs (HAS den Bosch and Utrecht University 2015)
As the main focus of this study was on Toxocara, further results were presented for this specific helminth only
Infections with endoparasites are generally less studied in cats than in dogs, there are several reports on the prevalence of patent infections with T. cati in cats that indicate that cats are responsible for a considerable part of the environmental contamination with this zoonotic roundworm (Fisher 2003)

Summary

Introduction

Cats are among the most common pets worldwide, and in a country like the Netherlands, their estimated number is almost twice as large as that of dogs (HAS den Bosch and Utrecht University 2015). While the Netherlands is a country free of stray dogs, stray, and free-ranging cats are widespread (Neijenhuis and van Niekerk 2015). These unowned cats are more likely to receive sub-optimal care and potentially harbour more parasites. Among adult hosts of Toxocara spp. in the Netherlands, i.e. cats, dogs, and foxes, cats have been estimated to be responsible for a considerable, if not the largest, portion of Toxocara spp. eggs contaminating the environment (Morgan et al 2013; Nijsse et al 2015). With the aim of reducing environmental contamination with Toxocara eggs, the guidelines of the European Scientific Counsel Companion Animal Parasites (ESCCAP) state that all adult cats should be dewormed at least four times a year to prevent patent T. cati infections (ESCCAP 2010). The compliance of cat owners to this advice is unlikely to be high enough to have a significant impact on the environmental contamination with Toxocara eggs (Overgaauw et al 2009)

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