Aelurostrongylus abstrusus

Aelurostrongylus abstrusus

Aeurostrongylus abstrusus - Courtesy of the Laboratory of Parasitology, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine

• The cat lungworm - a typical metastrongyloid.
• Adults are small (approximately 1cm), and live in the lung parenchyma and small bronchioles.
• Life-Cycle:

→ L1 with kinky tail in faeces

→ mollusc intermediate host

→ cat infected either by eating an infected mollusc, or by eating a paratenic host that has eaten an infected mollusc

• Infections often asymptomatic, but can cause serious respiratory problems, especially in immunocompromised cats.

Aelurostrongylosis

• Often asymptomatic; serious respiratory problems usually due to deficient immunity.
• Prognosis poor.
• Post mortem examination reveals greenish nodules in lungs.
• Histopathology diferentiates these from tuberculosis.

Fenbendazole is licensed for treatment.