Occurrence of Endoparasites in Domestic Owned Cats in Dhaka City

Pet animals, particularly cats, and dogs, play an important role in societies worldwide. They are important companions in many households, contributing to children's physical, social, and emotional development and their owners' well-being, especially in the elderly (Wong et al. 1999). The domestic cat (Felis silvestris catus) is one of the most popular pets all over the globe. According to IFAH Europe (The International Federation for Animal Health Europe), apart from stray cats, there are about 220 million cats throughout the world (Szwabe and Błaszkowska 2017). The oldest archaeological evidence of cat taming was found in Crete dating back to approximately 9,500 B.P. and remains of cats have also been found from Jericho near the Jordan River dated to 8,700 B.P. (Vigne et al. 2004).

The most widely accepted theory of cat domestication states that cats essentially domesticated themselves. Cats usually live in solitude and keep their own territories, making them more attached to places than to people. Rather, the best inference is that people simply tolerated wildcats using human environments, and pet cats gradually diverted from their wild relatives over time and space (Driscoll et al. 2009). Studies have suggested that both human and animal companions are benefited in many ways from the relationship between them (Bernstein 2007). The relationship between human health and pet ownership has been studied from various perspectives, and there is evidence that suggests that pets provide companionship and also probably provide psychological and physiological health benefits (McNicholas et al. 2005).

The risk rates for cardiovascular disease are significantly lower for both current and past cat owners than for non-cat owners (Qureshi et al. 2009). Several studies have found that owning and/or interacting with a pet has benefits for the individual, including mental health outcomes such as reduced anxiety and physical health outcomes such as improved physical activity and immune response (Kaye et al. 2007, Takkouche et al. 2008). In older adults, animals also provide a sense of comfort and social support (Krause-Parello 2008). While animals offer significant benefits to our society, there are well-documented health risks associated with owning a pet. Household pets were found to play a direct role in the transmission of zoonosis (Traversa 2012).

This close contact, however, can also increase the risk of exposure to infectious diseases, as pets have been involved in the transmission of more than 60 zoonotic agents (Macpherson 2005). Some of these parasites cause diseases that can be serious under specific circumstances (Baneth et al. 2016). The increasing number of companion animals, including cats, poses serious problems for public health, veterinary and socioeconomic problems throughout the world (Szwabe and Błaszkowska 2017).

Without veterinary care, domesticated free-roaming cats in many countries can cause problems of public health and animal welfare concerns. Indeed, the majority of diseases can be controlled or prevented by the cat owners if they are sufficiently knowledgeable and have the resources to do so (Njuguna et al. 2017). Concerns about the public health hazards of pet ownership have recently increased significantly, and while many potentially zoonotic organisms are associated with cats, enteric pathogens are of particular concern (Beugnet et al. 2014, Giannelli et al. 2017).

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A variety of factors affect the epidemiology of cat parasites, including geographical location, the presence of veterinary care, the habits of the local animal populations, and the season of the year (Yang and Liang 2015). Epidemiological surveillance studies reported in different countries show that owned cats permitted to roam outside have high parasite frequencies. Specific hazard factors for endoparasite contamination featured in the ESCCAP guide include the opportunity to wander, contact with canines/felines outside the occupant family, eating flesh or excrement of conspecifics, or eating prey. Additional considerations include animal age (e.g. more frequent deworming of puppies), pregnancy/ lactation status, eating slugs/snails, contact with children or immunocompromised persons (increased zoonotic risk), and travel to certain areas (e.g. endemic Echinococcus spp.) (McNamara et al. 2018).

Cats may harbor a large number of endoparasites, including protozoa, cestodes, trematodes, and nematodes. Gastrointestinal species are considered to be the most important of all the parasites of cats from an epidemiological point of view. Cats have a wide range of helminth parasites, several of which are of zoonotic importance (Khalafalla 2011). In addition to causing disease in cats, the parasites are of zoonotic importance (Yang and Liang 2015). Cat-to-cat roundworm transmission usually occurs by oral or trans mammary route, whereas hookworm transmission occurs by the oral or cutaneous route and whipworm transmission by the oral route.

However, depending on the parasite species and its abundance, infestations can also cause varying clinical signs in cats, such as lethargy, dull haircoat, vomiting, diarrhea, poor growth rate, anemia and sometimes even death, particularly in kittens. (Traversa 2012, Duarte et al. 2016). Kittens and young animals typically have a higher prevalence of infections and associated clinical diseases (Riggio et al 2013). However, adult and wild felids also contribute to the pollution of the environment and hence to the maintenance of life cycles (Otranto et al. 2015).

Cats and other felines can act as reservoirs, carriers, transmitters, and definitive hosts for many intestinal parasites. These animals play an important role in parasite transmission to humans and other animals by shedding parasitic eggs, larvae, cysts or oocysts in their feces (Mircean et al. 2010). Furthermore, these zoonotic parasites can transmit either by close contact with parasitized animals or by exposure to a contaminated environment (Deplazes et al. 2011).

Toxocara cati infections in free-roaming cat populations are of particular concern due to the public health risk and its Neglected Parasite Infection status (Centers for Disease Control, 2016). The infective stage larvae within the egg of the feline roundworm, T. cati, persists for years in the environment and remains transmissible by accidental ingestion. This debilitating disease is most commonly associated with children playing in uncovered sandboxes or on beaches that free-roaming cats can use for a litter box. Transmission takes place through drinking water contaminated with infected copepods or consumption of undercooked 2nd intermediate hosts including amphibians, reptiles, and fish (Wyrosdick et al. 2017). Zoonotic cestodes from cats like Dipylidium caninum and Echinococcus multilocularis may also cause infection in humans. Toxoplasma gondii is of great importance in public health among protozoans.

Both Cryptosporidium and Giardia are immediately infective during host fecal shedding (Wyrosdick et al. 2017). Although cats may carry various zoonotic parasites, research shows that domestic-owned cats are less affected by parasites than stray cats or cats from shelters, breeding kennels or pet shops. Thus, the prevalence of parasites in free-roaming cats is significantly higher than in household cats and, as a result, the free-roaming cat population is the main source of infection with parasites, especially in urban ecosystems (Hoopes et al. 2015)