UNIVERSIDADE DE LISBOA Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária THE FIRST EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY ON THE PREVALENCE OF CARDIOPULMONARY AND GASTROINTESTINAL PARASITES IN CATS AND DOGS FROM THE ALGARVE REGION OF PORTUGAL USING THE FLOTAC TECHNIQUE SINCLAIR PATRICK OWEN CONSTITUIÇÃO DO JURÍ ORIENTADOR Doutor José Augusto Farraia e Silva Doutor Luís Manuel Madeira de Carvalho Meireles Doutor Luís Manuel Madeira de Carvalho CO-ORIENTADOR Mestre Telmo Renato Landeiro Raposo Dr. Dário Jorge Costa Santinha Pina Nunes 2017 LISBOA UNIVERSIDADE DE LISBOA Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária THE FIRST EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY ON THE PREVALENCE OF CARDIOPULMONARY AND GASTROINTESTINAL PARASITES IN CATS AND DOGS FROM THE ALGARVE REGION OF PORTUGAL USING THE FLOTAC TECHNIQUE SINCLAIR PATRICK OWEN DISSERTAÇÃO DE MESTRADO INTEGRADO EM MEDICINA VETERINÁRIA CONSTITUIÇÃO DO JURÍ ORIENTADOR Doutor José Augusto Farraia e Silva Doutor Luís Manuel Madeira de Carvalho Meireles CO-ORIENTADOR Doutor Luís Manuel Madeira de Carvalho Dr. Dário Jorge Costa Santinha Mestre Telmo Renato Landeiro Raposo Pina Nunes 2017 LISBOA ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation and the research project that underpins it would not have been possible without the support, advice and encouragement of many people to whom I am extremely grateful. First and foremost, a big thank you to my supervisor Professor Doctor Luis Manuel Madeira de Carvalho, a true gentleman, for his unwavering support and for sharing his extensive knowledge with me. Without his excellent scientific guidance and British humour this journey wouldn’t have been the same. I would like to thank my co-supervisor Dr. Dário Jorge Costa Santinha, for welcoming me into his Hospital and for everything he taught me. It was a very enriching experience for which I am very grateful. My heartfelt appreciation goes to my friend now Doctor Ana Margarida Alho, for giving me the opportunity to follow her work towards her PhD and for her constant encouragement, help and for motivating me to finish this dissertation. A big thank you to Lidia Gomes in the Parasitology lab for helping me identify some parasites, her humour made everything so much more fun. To all the hardworking staff and volunteers at the shelters I visited, you all do an amazing job. To Drª Mafalda Andrade a big thank you for sharing your extensive knowledge of ultrasonography and medical know how with me. To all my friends and colleagues at the Loulé Veterinary Hospital, Drª Joana Soares, Drª Ana Palma, Drª Aline Delgado, Dr. Filipe Pereira, Drª Beatriz Santos, Dr. José Nogueira, Dr. Alexandre Marques, Helena Guerreiro, Manuela Martins, Claudio "Soya", Sandra Medeiros, Sr. Jorge and Dona Leonor Santinha thank you for welcoming me with open arms and paws! Over the years it took to be finished the course and write this dissertation, I also had the support from my amazing friends and family, thank you all for believing in me. To Mo Ressler and Michael Joseph, thank you for everything, none of this would have been possible without you. To my family in Ireland for your encouragement and my uncle Noel Connors for sharing his love and knowledge of horses with me. i To my friend Beatriz Santos, Marie Santos and Guida Azevedo for all your wise words and constant support and encouragement. To my friends Guilherme Soares, Ana Lopes, Teresa Afonso, Gonçalo Soeiro, Daniel Murta, Pedro Teixeira and Ana Rita Moreira for all the fun and friendship and motivation. To Carla Motolla and Rui Seixas for your friendship and advice. To Celeste Oliveira my second mother from Angola, my brother Dean, my sister Nikita, my nieces and nephews, my Godson, Cidalia and all my four legged family members past and present a big thank you for being there for me. To Carlos Alberto, this is also for you, I am lucky to have you in my life. I dedicate this dissertation to my parents, Ellen and Arthur Owen, for all the love and encouragement I have received throughout my life to follow my dreams and for helping me do so. ii RESUMO PRIMEIRO RASTREIO DE PARASITAS CARDIOPULMONARES E GASTROINTESTINAIS EM CÂES E GATOS DA REGIÂO DO ALGARVE UTILIZANDO A TÉCNICA DE FLOTAC Apesar de nas últimas décadas terem surgido vários trabalhos de rastreio parasitológico em Portugal, atualmente continuam a existir poucos dados sobre a incidência de parasitas gastrointestinais e cardiopulmonares de carnívoros domésticos com relevância clinica no Algarve. Por esta razão foi realizado um estudo entre Fevereiro e Abril de 2016 utilizando a técnica do FLOTAC. No total foram colhidas 142 amostras de canis e gatis da região correspondendo a 66 cães e 76 gatos todos com > 6 meses de idade. Foram detetadas formas de eliminação fecal de seis grupos de endoparasitas, quatro dos quais com potencial zoonótico. A prevalência global no estudo foi de 31%, com 21.2% das amostras de canídeo positivas e 39.5% de felídeo positivos para pelo menos um parasita. Infeções mistas com dois parasitas foram observadas em 2.6% das amostras de cão e 9.2% das de gato. Toxocara sp. foi o parasita mais frequente em cães evidenciando-se em 13.6% (OPG: 61.3 ± 74.65) das amostras e em 31.6% (OPG 523.92 ± 688.75) das de gato. Nos cães também foram detetadas amostras positivas para Ancylostomatidae (3%), Taeniidae (6%) e Trichuris spp. (2%) e nos gatos Ancylostomatidae (5.3%), Aelurostrongylus abstrusus (4%), Cystoisospora spp. (6.6%) e Taeniidae (1.3%). A presença de parasitas com potencial zoonótico na população estudada bem como e elevada prevalência de Toxocara spp. é preocupante e alerta para a necessidade de desparasitação regular e medidas de controlo higio-sanitário adequadas, quer em animais com proprietário, quer em animais de abrigo. Palavras chave: cão, gato, parasitas gastrointestinais, parasitas cardiopulmonares, zoonoses, FLOTAC. iii ABSTRACT THE FIRST EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY ON THE PREVALENCE OF CARDIOPULMONARY AND GASTROINTESTINAL PARASITES IN CATS AND DOGS FROM THE ALGARVE REGION OF PORTUGAL USING THE FLOTAC TECHNIQUE Although over the past decades various parasitologal surveys have been conducted in Portugal, at present scant information is available on the prevalence of clinically- relevant gastrointestinal and cardiopulmonary parasites in the Algarve. This study performed between February and April 2016 using the FLOTAC technique was undertaken to address this. Faecal samples were collected from 66 dogs and 76 cats > 6 months old from shelters in the region. Faecal forms of six different groups of endoparasites were detected, four of which with zoonotic potential. The overall prevalence in both species was 31%, with 21.2% of the dog samples positive and 39.5% of the cat samples positive for at least one parasite. Concurrent infections with two parasites were detected in 2.6% of the dog samples and 9.2% of the cats. Toxocara spp. was the most common parasite found in 13.6% (EPG: 61.3 ± 74.65) of the dogs samples and 31.6% (EPG 523.92 ± 688.75) of the cats. Other parasites found in dogs were Ancylostomatidae (3%), Taeniidae (6%) and Trichuris spp. (2%) and in cats Ancylostomatidae (5.3%), Aelurostrongylus abstrusus (4%), Cystoisospora spp. (6.6%) and Taeniidae (1.3%) were found. The presence of zoonotic parasites in the population studied as well as the elevated prevalence of Toxocara spp. overall are concerning and highlight the need for regular prophylaxis, hygiene and sanitary control measures in pets as well as shelter animals. Key words: dog, cat, gastrointestinal parasites, cardiopulmonary parasites, zoonosis, FLOTAC. iv INTRODUCTORY NOTE The present document is the result of the work developed during the author’s traineeship period as part of the requirements for the attribution of the Master’s degree in Veterinary Medicine. The results of the research project were presented in the form of a paper and poster communication at the 7th International EFOMV congress in Lisbon, Portugal held on 26th and 27th of November, 2016). (Appendix IV) v TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................ i RESUMO .................................................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................. iv INTRODUCTORY NOTE ............................................................................................ v LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................... x LIST OF GRAPHICS.................................................................................................. xii LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................... xiii LIST OF SYMBOLS .................................................................................................. xiv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ....................................................................................... xv CHAPTER I - INTRODUCTION .................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER II - TRAINING PERIOD ACTIVITIES ........................................................ 2 2.1 Hospital Veterinário de Loulé........................................................................ 2 2.2 Laboratory for Parasitic diseases FMV-ULisboa ........................................... 3 CHAPTER III - REVIEW OF LITERATURE ................................................................ 4 3.1 Nematodes ..................................................................................................