title: A survey study on gastrointestinal parasites of stray cats in Azarshahr, (East Azerbaijan province, Iran).
abstract: Gastrointestinal parasites are among the most common parasitic infections found in stray cats, which might act potential helminthic parasites to domestic cats. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites in stray cats in the city of Azarshahr, which is located in East Azerbaijan province, Iran. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 50 necropsied stray cats, trapped and collected from different geographic regions of Azarshahr. From a total 50 stray cats examined, 15 (30 %) were female and 35 (70 %) were male. Overall 47 cats (94 %) were identified as infected with at least one of the endoparasites. The prevalence of parasites found were:Taenia taeniaeformis(60 %),Dipylidium caninum(58 %),Taenia hydatigera(24 %),Mesocestoides lineatus(78 %),Ancylostoma tubaeforme(14 %),Toxascaris leonina(30 %),Toxocara cati(78 %),Physaloptera praeputialis(10 %), andSyphacia obvelata(10 %). Contamination rate for zoonotic parasites of cat was greater than expected in AzarShahr region. Therefore, appropriate control measures should be taken and preventive methods should be applied.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran.
authors.forename: Nasser
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hajipour
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathobiology, Parasitology Division, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Tabriz University, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Aabbas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Imani Baran
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yakhchali
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Seyed Mehdi
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Banan Khojasteh
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Farzam
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sheikhzade Hesari
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran.
authors.forename: Bijan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Esmaeilnejad
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran.
authors.forename: Jafar
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Arjmand
keywords: AzarShahr; Gastrointestinal; Parasite; Stray cat