title: Prevalence and risk factors for patent Toxocara infections in cats and cat owners' attitude towards deworming.
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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, P.O.Box 80.165, 3508 TD, Utrecht, The Netherlands. e.r.nijsse@uu.nl.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nijsse
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, P.O.Box 80.165, 3508 TD, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: H W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Ploeger
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, P.O.Box 80.165, 3508 TD, Utrecht, The Netherlands.|Central Veterinary Institute of Wageningen UR, Houtribweg 39, 8221 RA, Lelystad, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Wagenaar
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, P.O.Box 80.165, 3508 TD, Utrecht, The Netherlands.|National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Centre for Infectious Disease Control, P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA, Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mughini-Gras
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D000871:Anthelmintics / Q000008:administration & dosage; D001290:Attitude; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000523:psychology; D002415:Cats; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D014119:Toxocara / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D014120:Toxocariasis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000523:psychology
chemical_list: D000871:Anthelmintics
keywords: Cat owners; Deworming; Household cats; Public health; Risk factors; Toxocara cati