ميزان شيوع تك ياخته ها و كرم هاي گوارشي گربه هاي ولگرد در استان آذربايجان شرقي

Prevalence of Protozoa and Gastrointestinal Helminthes in Stray Cats in East- Azerbaijan Province

Cats and other felines act as definitive hosts for many intestinal parasites, some of which are responsible for several zoonotic diseases .the aim of this study was to determine the type and prevalence of protozoa and gastrointestinal helminthes among stray cats. A cross sectional study was conducted. Digestive tract of 120 stray cats in East-Azerbaijan province , were necropsied in order to recognize gastrointestinal helminthes and intestinal protozoa parasites these cats were collected by baited cage trapped from October 2008 to October 2009 . Gender and species of helminthes and protozoa were recognized using authentic diagnostic criteria. Statistical evaluation was performed by SPSS version 14. 38 percent of cats were infected with intestinal protozoa parasites,29% were infected with Cestodes and 35% infected with gastrointestinal nematodes. 3 species protozoa parasites and 6 gastrointestinal helminthes were recovered from the animals, including: Toxoplasma gondii, Sarcocystis spp.,Cystoisospora spp. and Taenia taeniae formis, Dipylidium noleri, Joyeuxiella pasqqauleri, Toxocara Cati, Physaloptera praeputialis, onicola. The high infection rate of toxoplasma and some gastrointestinal helminthes in stray cats is considered to be critical from the view point of public health importance.