Abstract
Gurltia paralysans is a rare metastrongyloid nematode in South America that has begun to gain relevance in feline internal medicine as a differential diagnosis of progressive degenerative myelopathy disorders. The parasite life cycle has not been fully elucidated but probably involves invertebrate gastropod fauna as obligate intermediate hosts; thus, G. paralysans remaining an extremely neglected parasitosis. Feline gurltiosis intra vitam diagnosis is highly challenging due to lack of evidence in the excretion of G. paralysans eggs and larvae, neither in feces nor in other body secretions because environmental stages and the transmission route of the parasite remain unknown. Unfortunately, no experimental trials for the treatment of feline gurltiosis have been conducted to date. However, there are some reports of the successfully antiparasitic drugs used with different effectiveness and clinical improvement results in diagnosed cats. Further studies are needed to evaluate the parasite occurrence among domestic cats and the neotropical wild felid species distributed within Colombia in addition to the gastropod fauna that may harbor the developing larvae (L1–L3) stages of this underestimated parasite.
Highlights
Worldwide Distribution Range of GurltiosisGurltiosis was a parasitic disease found only in South America, distributing from Aysén in southern Chile to the northernmost report located in Antioquia, Colombia [31,32]
CIBAV Research Group, Veterinary Medicine School, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín 050034, Colombia; Biomedical Research Center Seltersberg (BFS), Institute of Parasitology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, 35392 Gießen, Germany
In parallel with other neglected felid diseases frequently underestimated by veterinary clinicians, gurltiosis should be included in the differential diagnoses of feline spinal cord disorders
Summary
Gurltiosis was a parasitic disease found only in South America, distributing from Aysén in southern Chile to the northernmost report located in Antioquia, Colombia [31,32]. One confirmed case of gurltiosis has been reported in South America in a domestic cat from the island of Tenerife, and this is the first report of ophthalmic. G. paralysans morphologic traits [16]. Those reports possibly constitute imported cases to. Feline gurltiosis is often reported as sporadic single case reports and limited sample size studies across South America. The vast majority of reports had a small sample size, (x ≈ 9.4), and were located in rural and suburban areas (Table 2). In South America, the mean age of feline gurltiosis reported cases was 2.5 years old
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