1.

STRONGYLOIDOSIS

2.TOXOPLASMOSIS
 INTRODUCTION

• Strongyloides are
roundworms, also called
threadworms or pinworms
that affects many
domestic and wild
vertebrates
• Like horses, cattle, sheep,
goats, swine and poultry.
• They are found worldwide
in regions with a warm
and humid climate, mainly
in rural areas with poor
sanitation standards
 Strongyloides avium. poultry
(chicken, ducks, turkey, etc.).

Strongyloides papillosus. mainly in

cattle, sheep and goats.

STRONGYLOIDES
SPECIES Strongyloides ransomi. swine and
wild boars.

Strongyloides westeri. horses,

donkeys and other equids.

Strongyloides stercoralis. Dogs and

cats
 The disease caused by
these worms is called
How Strongyloidiasis or
Animal Strongyloidosis.

Gets
Infection? Infection is usually by skin
penetration or larvae
ingested with
contaminated pasture,
food or water.
 Predilection site of Strongyloides
adults in horses, cattle, sheep,
goats and swine is the small
intestine.
Final Location
of Migrating larvae can be found in
Strongyloides skin, blood, lungs and other
Worms organs.

Predilection site of Strongyloides

adults in poultry is the cecum.
 SIGN AND SYMPTOMS

• Strongyloides papillosus is particularly harmful for calves of

up to 6 months of age.
• Damage to the skin between the hooves, produced by skin-
penetrating larvae, resembles the early stages of foot rot and
may aid penetration of the causal agents of foot rot.
• Larvae migrating through the skin can produce dermatitis,
with itching, especially in the legs.
 SIGN AND SYMPTOMS

• The lungs are strongly harmed by migrating larvae, also cause

secondary infections with bacteria.
• Coughing, difficult breathing, fever and even pneumonia.
• larvae can also infect the intestine, causing enteritis and
diarrhea (sometimes hemorrhagic), loss of appetite, strong
weight losses and even death after massive infections.
 DIAGNOSIS

• Diagnosis is confirmed through detection

of small embryonated eggs in the feces.
• Small larvae (about 600 micrometers
long) may be found in elder feces.
• In poultry adult worms can be found in
scrapings of the mucosa of the cecum
after necropsy.
Toxoplasmosis
 TOXOPLASMOSIS

• Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite that infects people

and other warm-blooded animals.
• ETIOLOGY:
– Felids are the only definitive hosts of T gondii; both wild
and domestic cats therefore serve as the main reservoir of
infection.
 TOXOPLASMOSIS

– There are three infectious stages of T gondii:

– tachyzoites (rapidly multiplying form)
– bradyzoites (tissue cyst form)
– sporozoites (in oocysts)
 TRANSMISSION

• T gondii is transmitted by;

– consumption of infectious oocysts in cat feces,
– consumption of tissue cysts in infected meat,
– by transplacental transfer of tachyzoites from mother to
fetus
LIFE CYCLE
 PATHOGENESIS

• T gondii initiates enteroepithelial replication in unexposed

cats after ingestion of uncooked meat containing tissue cysts.
• Bradyzoites are released from tissue cysts by digestion in the
stomach and small intestine, invade intestinal epithelium, and
undergo sexual replication.
 PATHOGENESIS

• At the end release of oocysts (10 μm diameter) in the feces.

• Oocysts sporulate (become infectious) outside the cat within
1–5 days.
• Tachyzoites infect tissues throughout the body and replicate
intracellularly until the cells burst, causing tissue necrosis.
 PATHOGENESIS

• Tissue cysts are usually seen in neurons but also seen in other
tissues.
• Tissue cysts in the host remain viable for many years, and
possibly for the life of the host.
 SIGN AND SYMPTOMS

• The tachyzoite is the stage responsible for tissue damage

therefore, clinical signs depend on;
– the number of tachyzoites released
– the ability of the host immune system to limit tachyzoite
spread
– the organs damaged by the tachyzoites.
• Toxoplasmosis is usually a subclinical
illness. However, in young animals,
particularly puppies, kittens, and
piglets, tachyzoites spread systemically
and cause interstitial pneumonia,
SIGN AND
myocarditis, hepatic necrosis, SYMPTOMS
meningoencephalomyelitis,
chorioretinitis, lymphadenopathy,
and myositis.
• Other clinical signs include fever,
diarrhea, cough, dyspnea, icterus,
seizures, and death.
• T gondii is also an important cause of
abortion and stillbirth in sheep and SIGN AND
goats and sometimes in pigs.
• After infection of a pregnant ewe,
SYMPTOMS
tachyzoites spread via the
bloodstream to placental cotyledons,
causing necrosis.
 • Tachyzoites may also spread to the
fetus, causing necrosis in multiple
SIGN AND organs.
SYMPTOMS
➢ Immunocompromised adult animals
(e.g, cats infected with feline
immunodeficiency virus) are
extremely susceptible to developing
acute generalized toxoplasmosis.
 • Diagnosis is made by biologic,
serologic, or histologic methods, or
by some combination of the all
these methods.
DIAGNOSIS • Antemortem diagnosis may be
accomplished by;
– indirect hemagglutination assay
– indirect fluorescent antibody
assay
– latex agglutination test
– ELISA
 • CSF and aqueous humor may be
analyzed for the presence of
tachyzoites or anti-T gondii
antibodies.
• Postmortem, tachyzoites may be
DIAGNOSIS seen in tissue impression smears.
• Microscopic examination of tissue
sections may reveal the presence of
tachyzoites or bradyzoites.
• T gondii is morphologically similar
to other protozoan parasites and
must be differentiated from
Sarcocystis species and Neospora
caninum.
 • Sulfadiazine (15–25 mg/kg) and
pyrimethamine (0.44 mg/kg) act
synergistically and are widely used
for treatment of toxoplasmosis.
TREATMENT • Clindamycin is the treatment of
choice for dogs and cats, at 10–40
mg/kg and 25–50 mg/kg
respectively, for 14–21 days.
 • T gondii is an important zoonotic
agent.
• Toxoplasmosis is a major concern
for people with immune system
PREVENTION dysfunction.
AND • In these individuals, toxoplasmosis
usually presents as
ZOONOTIC meningoencephalitis and results
from the emergence of T gondii
RISK from tissue cysts located in the
brain as immunity wanes rather
than from primary T gondii
infection.
 • Toxoplasmosis is also a concern for
pregnant women because
tachyzoites can migrate
transplacentally and cause birth
ZOONOTIC defects in human fetuses.

RISK • Infection with T gondii may occur

after ingestion of undercooked
meat or accidental ingestion of
oocysts from cat feces.
 • To prevent infection;
• The hands of people handling
meat should be washed
thoroughly with soap and water
after contact, as should all cutting
boards, sink tops, knives, and
PREVENTION other materials.
• The stages of T gondii in meat are
killed by contact with soap and
water.
• T gondii organisms in meat can
also be killed by exposure to
extreme cold or heat
 PREVENTION

• Tissue cysts in meat are killed by heating the meat

throughout to 67°C (152.6°F) or by cooling to −13°C (8.6°F).
• Meat of any animal should be cooked to 67°C (152.6°F)
before consumption, and tasting meat while cooking or while
seasoning should be avoided.
 PREVENTION

• Pregnant women should avoid contact with cat litter, soil,

and raw meat.
• Pet cats should be fed only dry, canned, or cooked food
• The cat litter box should be emptied daily, preferably not by a
pregnant woman.
• Gloves should be worn while gardening.
 PREVENTION
•Vegetables should be washed thoroughly before eating, because they may
have been contaminated with cat feces.
❑ There is currently no vaccine to prevent toxoplasmosis in people.