Do All Roads Lead to Rome? The Potential of Different Approaches to Diagnose <i>Aelurostrongylus abstrusus</i> Infection in Cats
An infection with the cat lungworm, <i>Aelurostrongylus abstrusus</i>, can be subclinical, but it can also cause severe respiratory clinical signs. Larvae excretion, antibody levels, clinical assessment findings of the respiratory system and diagnostic imaging findings were recorded and...
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MDPI AG
2021-05-01
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| Series: | Pathogens |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/10/5/602 |
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| author | Katharina Raue Jonathan Raue Daniela Hauck Franz Söbbeler Simone Morelli Donato Traversa Manuela Schnyder Holger Volk Christina Strube |
| author_facet | Katharina Raue Jonathan Raue Daniela Hauck Franz Söbbeler Simone Morelli Donato Traversa Manuela Schnyder Holger Volk Christina Strube |
| author_sort | Katharina Raue |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | An infection with the cat lungworm, <i>Aelurostrongylus abstrusus</i>, can be subclinical, but it can also cause severe respiratory clinical signs. Larvae excretion, antibody levels, clinical assessment findings of the respiratory system and diagnostic imaging findings were recorded and compared for six cats with experimental aelurostrongylosis. In five cats, patency started 33–47 days post infection (pi), but two cats excreted larvae only in long intervals and low numbers. Positive ELISA results were observed in four cats with patent aelurostrongylosis, starting between five days before and 85 days after onset of patency. One seropositive cat remained copromicroscopically negative. Mild respiratory signs were observed in all cats examined. A computed tomographic (CT) examination of the lungs displayed distinct alterations, even in absence of evident clinical signs or when larvae excretion was low or negative. The thoracic radiograph evaluation correlated with the CT results, but CT was more distinctive. After anthelmintic treatment in the 25th week post infection, pulmonary imaging findings improved back to normal within 6–24 weeks. This study shows that a multifaceted approach, including diagnostic imaging, can provide a clearer diagnosis and monitoring of disease progression. Furthermore, a CT examination provides an alternative to <i>post mortem</i> examination and worm counts in anthelmintic efficacy studies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:25:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e733b502e74e448bb71b4677bc225e8a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0817 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:25:18Z |
| publishDate | 2021-05-01 |
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| record_format | Article |
| series | Pathogens |
| spelling | doaj.art-e733b502e74e448bb71b4677bc225e8a2023-11-21T19:46:20ZengMDPI AGPathogens2076-08172021-05-0110560210.3390/pathogens10050602Do All Roads Lead to Rome? The Potential of Different Approaches to Diagnose <i>Aelurostrongylus abstrusus</i> Infection in CatsKatharina Raue0Jonathan Raue1Daniela Hauck2Franz Söbbeler3Simone Morelli4Donato Traversa5Manuela Schnyder6Holger Volk7Christina Strube8Institute for Parasitology, Centre for Infection Medicine, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, 30559 Hannover, GermanyDepartment for Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, 30559 Hannover, GermanyInstitute for Parasitology, Centre for Infection Medicine, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, 30559 Hannover, GermanyDepartment for Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, 30559 Hannover, GermanyFaculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Teramo, 64100 Teramo, ItalyFaculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Teramo, 64100 Teramo, ItalyInstitute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057 Zürich, SwitzerlandDepartment for Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, 30559 Hannover, GermanyInstitute for Parasitology, Centre for Infection Medicine, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, 30559 Hannover, GermanyAn infection with the cat lungworm, <i>Aelurostrongylus abstrusus</i>, can be subclinical, but it can also cause severe respiratory clinical signs. Larvae excretion, antibody levels, clinical assessment findings of the respiratory system and diagnostic imaging findings were recorded and compared for six cats with experimental aelurostrongylosis. In five cats, patency started 33–47 days post infection (pi), but two cats excreted larvae only in long intervals and low numbers. Positive ELISA results were observed in four cats with patent aelurostrongylosis, starting between five days before and 85 days after onset of patency. One seropositive cat remained copromicroscopically negative. Mild respiratory signs were observed in all cats examined. A computed tomographic (CT) examination of the lungs displayed distinct alterations, even in absence of evident clinical signs or when larvae excretion was low or negative. The thoracic radiograph evaluation correlated with the CT results, but CT was more distinctive. After anthelmintic treatment in the 25th week post infection, pulmonary imaging findings improved back to normal within 6–24 weeks. This study shows that a multifaceted approach, including diagnostic imaging, can provide a clearer diagnosis and monitoring of disease progression. Furthermore, a CT examination provides an alternative to <i>post mortem</i> examination and worm counts in anthelmintic efficacy studies.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/10/5/602cat lungwormaelurostrongylosisparasitic bronchopneumoniadiagnostic imagingcomputed tomographyX-ray |
| spellingShingle | Katharina Raue Jonathan Raue Daniela Hauck Franz Söbbeler Simone Morelli Donato Traversa Manuela Schnyder Holger Volk Christina Strube Do All Roads Lead to Rome? The Potential of Different Approaches to Diagnose <i>Aelurostrongylus abstrusus</i> Infection in Cats Pathogens cat lungworm aelurostrongylosis parasitic bronchopneumonia diagnostic imaging computed tomography X-ray |
| title | Do All Roads Lead to Rome? The Potential of Different Approaches to Diagnose <i>Aelurostrongylus abstrusus</i> Infection in Cats |
| title_full | Do All Roads Lead to Rome? The Potential of Different Approaches to Diagnose <i>Aelurostrongylus abstrusus</i> Infection in Cats |
| title_fullStr | Do All Roads Lead to Rome? The Potential of Different Approaches to Diagnose <i>Aelurostrongylus abstrusus</i> Infection in Cats |
| title_full_unstemmed | Do All Roads Lead to Rome? The Potential of Different Approaches to Diagnose <i>Aelurostrongylus abstrusus</i> Infection in Cats |
| title_short | Do All Roads Lead to Rome? The Potential of Different Approaches to Diagnose <i>Aelurostrongylus abstrusus</i> Infection in Cats |
| title_sort | do all roads lead to rome the potential of different approaches to diagnose i aelurostrongylus abstrusus i infection in cats |
| topic | cat lungworm aelurostrongylosis parasitic bronchopneumonia diagnostic imaging computed tomography X-ray |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/10/5/602 |
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