Feral Cats: Parasitic Reservoirs in Our Zoos?

• 作者: Carolina Romeiro Fernandes Chagas Edson Aparecido Adriano Irys Hany Lima Gonzalez Patrícia Locosque Ramos Paula Andrea Borges Salgado Thalyta Ananias Lima
• 来源期刊: 兽医学(英文)
• 学科: 生物学
• 关键词: Enteroparasites FELIDS Felis catus Toxocara cati Wild Animals
• 年，卷（期）: syxyw_2020,（8）
• 页码范围: 126-138
• 页数: 13页
• 分类号: Q95

摘要

<span style="line-height:1.5;">Up until the recent past, zoos served limited function, primarily existing for entertainment value. Today’s zoos, however, are serving many roles, chief among them: species conservation of captive animals. The biggest zoo in Brazil, S?o Paulo Zoological Park Foundation, has among its 2000 animals and many species of wild cats. The presence of domestic cats living freely in zoos </span><span style="line-height:1.5;">is</span><span style="line-height:1.5;"> common and can be a source of spreading disease. The aim of this study was to verify the variety and prevalence of parasites found in the feces of felids (feral and wild) living in the S<span style="white-space:nowrap;">?</span>o Paulo Zoo. The results of this parasitological analysis have been obtained from the laboratory of clinical analysis and correspond to the 4-year period beginning January/2009 and ending December/2012. Eight species of parasites were identified in the feces of captive wild cats and three in the feces of feral cats. For those captive</span><span style="line-height:1.5;">s</span><span "="" style="line-height:1.5;">, <i>Toxocara cati</i> (7.95%) had the highest prevalence, followed by <i>Toxascaris leonina</i> (7.58%), <i>Isospora</i> sp. (2.03%), <i>Hymenolepis nana</i> (0.92%), <i>Eimeria</i> sp., <i>Giardia</i> sp. and <i>Blastocystis</i> sp. (0.37% each) and <i>Ascaris</i> sp. (0.18%). Among the feral cats, we found <i>Toxocara cati</i> (59.26%), <i>Giardia</i> sp. (22.22%) and <i>Isospora</i> sp. (11.11%). For the captive group, we also distinguished natives from exotic species, finding native species to be more frequently parasitized than the exotic ones. Key to our findings, though, was the fact that a few parasite species were found among all groups of </span><span style="line-height:1.5;">f</span><span "="" style="line-height:1.5;">elids, specifically (<i>Toxocara cati</i>, <i>Giardia</i> sp. and <i>Isospora</i> sp). Further research is needed, however, to confirm that transmission of these parasite