Prevalence of intestinal helminths in cats in Quindío, Colombia Prevalencia de helmintos intestinales en gatos domésticos del departamento del Quindío, Colombia

Introduction. Diseases caused by helminths are widely distributed in the world and many of them are considered zoonoses in which pets play a major role in transmission to humans. Objective. To determine the prevalence of intestinal helminths in cats in Quindío. Materials and methods. 121 cats were studied in Quindío; data as sex, age and body condition were recorded. Fecal samples were collected and processed using the modified Ritchie and modified Kato-Katz techniques to determine the presence of intestinal helminths. Results. Of the 121 cats, 42.14%, (95%CI: 33.35-50.94) and 45.45% (95%CI: 36.58-54.32) were parasitized with at least one adult helminth species as evidenced by the presence of eggs in their fecal samples, using the Ritchie and Kato-Katz techniques, respectively. Toxocara cati was the most prevalent parasite (Ritchie: 37.2%, Kato-Katz: 43%), followed by Ancylostoma spp. (Ritchie: 7.43%, Kato-Katz: 5.78%) and Aelurostrongylus abstrusus (Ritchie:0.82%). 65 cats (53.71%) were females and 56 (46.28%) males; the prevalence of infection was similar in both sexes. The cats older than 4 years had the highest prevalence (81.8%) followed by those aged 1 to 4 years (48.8%) and by those under 1 year (28.6%). The majority of cats, 77.68%, were found to be in good body condition and this group had the lowest frequency of intestinal helminthes with both techniques. Conclusion. The prevalence of intestinal helminths in domestic cats in the department of Quindío was 43.8%; it is necessary to establish surveillance and prevention programs in the human and feline populations. Introducción. Las enfermedades producidas por helmintos están ampliamente distribuidas en el mundo y muchas de ellas se consideran zoonosis. Los animales de compa ía cumplen un papel trascendental dentro de la transmisión a los humanos. Objetivo. Determinar la prevalencia de helmintos intestinales en gatos del departamento del Quindío. Materiales y métodos. Se estudiaron 121 gatos domésticos del departamento del Quindío, de los cuales se registraron datos como: sexo, edad y condición corporal. Se recolectaron heces y se procesaron mediante las técnicas de Ritchie modificada y de Kato-Katz. Resultados. De los 121 gatos, 42,14% (IC95%: 33,35-50,94) y 45,45% (IC95%: 36,58-54,32) resultaron parasitados con alguna especie de helminto adulto según la presencia de huevos en sus heces, mediante las técnicas de Ritchie y Kato-Katz, respectivamente. Toxocara cati fue el parásito más prevalente (Ritchie: 37,2%, Kato-Katz: 43%), seguido por Ancylostoma spp. (Ritchie: 7,43%, Kato-Katz: 5,78%) y A