Abstract
BackgroundThe goals of this retrospective study were to estimate parasite positivity in samples from cats using zinc sulfate fecal flotation by centrifugation (“centrifugation”) and coproantigen and examine trends with age, geographical region and reason for visit to veterinarian. Common methods of parasite detection, such as centrifugal flotation, passive flotation, or direct smear, may underrepresent the true prevalence of intestinal parasites in cats. Coproantigen testing detects more positive samples than traditional methods alone.MethodsFeline fecal test results from the continental USA containing results for fecal exams performed using centrifugation paired with coproantigen results for ascarid, hookworm, whipworm and Giardia were obtained from the database of a national commercial reference laboratory comprised of multiple regional sites.ResultsParasite positivity was highest in samples from young cats and decreased with cat age. The western region of the USA had lower total parasite positivity than other regions for all parasites except Giardia. Cats receiving fecal tests during veterinary wellness visits had only slightly lower parasite positivity than samples from cats during sick clinical visits.ConclusionsThis study showed a larger population of cats are at increased risk of parasitism than commonly believed and coproantigen testing produces more positive test results for the four parasites that antigen can detect than centrifugation of feline fecal samples.
Highlights
The goals of this retrospective study were to estimate parasite positivity in samples from cats using zinc sulfate fecal flotation by centrifugation (“centrifugation”) and coproantigen and examine trends with age, geographi‐ cal region and reason for visit to veterinarian
The highest co-infection was ascarid + Giardia which occurred in 0.9% of all fecal tests
This study supports the previous findings that younger cats have more intestinal parasites and demonstrates specific trends in intestinal parasitism of domestic cats
Summary
The goals of this retrospective study were to estimate parasite positivity in samples from cats using zinc sulfate fecal flotation by centrifugation (“centrifugation”) and coproantigen and examine trends with age, geographi‐ cal region and reason for visit to veterinarian. Published studies investigating feline intestinal parasitism in the USA were limited to a single parasite [1, 4, 5], a particular geographical region [2, 3, 6], or focused solely on free-roaming or shelter cats [2, 3, 7]. These limitations make it difficult for a veterinarian to assess the risk to their patients. One resource for national reporting on feline fecal parasitism is CAPC (Companion Animal Parasite Council) [13] which sources its data from fecal submissions to commercial
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