title: Endoparasites of cats from the Tirana area and the first report on Aelurostrongylus abstrusus (Railliet, 1898) in Albania.
abstract: Following the recovery of first-stage nematode larvae indicative of Aelurostrongylus abstrusus infection in the faeces of free-roaming cats from the greater Tirana area, examination of 18 cats at necropsy revealed nine of them harbouring adult A. abstrusus (Railliet, 1898) in the lungs (prevalence, 50%; range, 1-11). In addition to A. abstrusus, Eucoleus aerophilus (16.7%; 1-9) was isolated from the lungs, and Toxocara cati (83.3%; 2-33), Ancylostoma tubaeforme (44.4%; 1-20), Dipylidium caninum (83.3%; 1-164), Joyeuxiella pasqualei (11.1%; 1-3) and one specimen of an acanthocephalan (5.5%) were recovered from the gastrointestinal tract. Furthermore, oocysts of Cystoisospora felis and C. rivolta were found in the rectal faeces of 5.6% and 11.1% of the cats, respectively. In conclusion, the prevalence of endoparasite infection in free-roaming cats in Tirana can be considered to be high. The occurrence of A. abstrusus, which may cause respiratory distress in cats, is reported for the first time in Albania.
authors.affiliation: Merial GmbH, Kathrinenhof Research Center, Rohrdorf, Germany. martin.knaus@merial.com
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Knaus
authors.forename: Ilir
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kusi
authors.forename: Dhimitër
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rapti
authors.forename: Dashamir
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Xhaxhiu
authors.forename: Renate
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Winter
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Visser
authors.forename: Steffen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rehbein
mesh_terms: D000415:Albania / Q000453:epidemiology; D000818:Animals; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology*; D002415:Cats / Q000469:parasitology*; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology*; D015995:Prevalence; D017183:Strongylida / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D017206:Strongylida Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*