Human ocular sparganosis in southern Brazil

We report the first case of human ocular sparganosis in the state of Santa Catarina, southern Brazil. A young female patient presented with three periocular moveable inflammatory masses in her right eye, during two years. By surgical excisional biopsy, a helminth larval stage was removed and identified as sparganum. Clinical, laboratory and epidemiological data on this parasite are presented

Freqüência de helmintos em gatos de Uberlândia, Minas Gerais Frequency of helminthes parasites in cats of Uberlândia, Minas Gerais

<abstract language="eng">Necropsies in 50 cats, males and females of different ages were performed from August 2000 to December 2001. Forty five (90%) of them had parasites. Eleven cats (22%) had single infection, 34 (75.6%) multiple infection, and only 5 (10%) were free of infection. The parasitic frequencies were as follow: Platynosomum fastosum (40%), Ancylostoma braziliensis (38%), Physaloptera praeputialis (34%), Aelurostrongylus abstrusus (18%), Dipylidium caninum (14%), Ancylostoma caninum (14%), Toxocara mistax (14%), Toxocara canis (10%), Trichuris campanula (6%), Toxascaris leonina (4%), Spirometra mansonoides (4%), Taenia taeniaeformis (4%) e Trichuris vulpis (2%)

Freqüência de parasitos gastrintestinais em cães e gatos atendidos em hospital-escola veterinário da cidade de São Paulo Frequency of gastrointestinal parasites in dogs and cats referred to a veterinary school hospital in the city of São Paulo

<abstract language="eng">Fecal samples from 1755 dogs and 327 cats were examined for the presence of helminths and protozoan forms. From the total samples, 486 (27.7%) dogs and 103 (31.5%) cats presented at least one parasite. The main genus of parasite in dogs were Ancylostoma (12.7%), Giardia (8.5%), Cystoisosopora (4.4%), Toxocara (2.6%), and Cryptosporidium (2.4%). The ocurrence of Ancylostoma was associated to male dogs, older than one year, while Giardia, Cryptosporidium, Cystoisospora and Toxocara were associated to dogs younger than one year (P<0.05). Among cats, the most frequent parasites were Cryptosporidium (11.3%), Giardia (8.3%), Cystoisosopora (8.3%), Toxocara (6.1%), and Ancylostoma (2.1%). Cryptosporidium and Cystoisosopora were more prevalent in cats younger than one year (P < 0.05)

New insights into diagnosis of Platynosomum fastosum (Trematoda: Dicrocoeliidae) in cats

Platynosomum fastosum is a hepatic trematode which causes the so-called lizard poisoning in cats. This parasite is reported in tropical and sub-tropical areas infecting the liver, gallbladder, and bile ducts of cats. Despite its clinical importance, the diagnosis of P. fastosum has been poorly investigated so far. In this study, three cases of infection by P. fastosum in cats are reported. The FLOTAC technique was utilized for the first time in the detection of eggs of this parasite. Three cats (two males and one female), being one of them with a history of diarrhea and vomiting, were diagnosed positive for the presence of P. fastosum eggs through the FLOTAC technique. In conclusion, this study provides important and new insights into the diagnosis of P. fastosum in cats, expanding the geographical knowledge of this parasite in Brazil