Small Animal Parasitology

Question 1

What can a fecal flotation detect?

Answer 1

Oocysts, eggs, cysts

Question 2

What can a wet mount detect?

Answer 2

Trophozoites
Giardia (small bowel, dogs and cats)
Tritrichomonas foetus (large bowel, kittens)

Question 3

What can a rectal cytology detect?

Answer 3

Neutrophils or eosinophils
Spore forming rods
Spirochetes

Question 3

What are considered “vomiting worms”?

Answer 3

Physaloptera (dogs and cats)
Ollulanus tricuspis (cats)
Eggs rarely shed in feces

Question 4

Puppy from humane society
Small bowel diarrhea
No vomiting
9x11 um cysts
What parasite?

Answer 4

Giardia

Question 5

What are the different tests for Giardia?

Answer 5

Wet mount (all diarrhea cases)
Fecal float (all cases)
Giardia antigen assays (increased sensitivity)
Giardia/cryptosporidium IFA (preferred, research gold standard)
Giardia PCR (only for genotyping)

Question 6

What is the recommended drug treatment for giardia?

Answer 6

Febantel (or fenbendazole)

Question 7

What is the recommended non-drug treatment for giardia?

Answer 7

High fiber diet (decreases trophozoite adherence, promotes normalizing bacterial overgrowth)
Probiotics may inhibit replication

Question 8

How is giardiasis controlled?

Answer 8

Decontaminate environment
Treat affected animals
Bathing to lessen cyst contamination
Prevent reintroduction

Question 9

Should patients positive for giardia but with normal stool be treated?

Answer 9

No

Question 10

What follow-up testing is recommended for giardia?

Answer 10

Should be done 24-48hrs after completion of therapy
Perform fecal floar with centrifugation primarily for detection of cysts in solid or semisolid stools
ELISA tests may remain positive after tx so should not be used

Question 11

Why should you complete Giardia workup after failure to treat?

Answer 11

Often co-infections (crypto, tritrich)
Often other GI diseases (IBD, EPI)

Question 12

Cat from cattery
Bloody mucous diarrhea
5 weeks duration
Multiple therapeutic trials fail
What parasite?

Answer 12

Tritrichomonas foetus

Question 13

Does tritrichomonas cause large or small bowel diarrhea? Giardia?

Answer 13

Tritrich = large
Giardia = small

Question 14

When is tritrich disease most severe? What duration is the diarrhea?

Answer 14

C. parvum co-infection
9 months

Question 15

What is the protocol for tritrichomonas testing?

Answer 15

No cysts
Combination: cytology, culture, PCR
If no organism on fresh feces wet mount, go to PCR - but a positive test result does not prove illness

Question 16

What is the treatment for tritrichomonas?

Answer 16

Ronidazole
Careful, crosses BBB
Pradofloxacin is promising

Question 17

How is cryptosporidiosis diagnosed?

Answer 17

Flotation
Staining
FA staining
PCR (most sensitive, genotyping only)

Question 18

What is the treatment for cryptosporidiosis?

Answer 18

No drug eliminates
Goals: resolve diarrhea, lessen oocyst shedding
Tylosin, Azithromycin
Most dual infection cases need up to 21 days of therapy

Question 19

12 wk old feline
Small bowel diarrhea with some blood
What parasite?

Answer 19

Isospora
Diarrhea usually only in kittens, not adults

Question 20

What is the recommended treatment for isospora?

Answer 20

Ponazuril (cidal)
Clindamycin, trimethoprim sulfa, sulfadimethoxine

Question 21

What 2 parasites have mainly systemic infections, not diarrhea?

Answer 21

Toxoplasma gondii
Neospora caninum

Question 22

Rice grains on butt
What parasite?

Answer 22

Taenia = hunter
Dipylidium caninum = fleas
Echinococcus = hunter

Question 23

What is the treatment of choice for tapeworms and flukes?

Answer 23

Praziquantel
(+ flea prevention)

Question 24

What is the treatment of choice for cestodes?

Answer 24

Epsiprantel Praziquantel

Question 25

5yr old dsh Small bowel diarrhea, fever Found with bird *Most likely parasite?*

Answer 25

Salmonella Rabbit = tularemia Rodent = toxoplasma, plague

Question 26

Clinical signs associated with campylobacter

Answer 26

*Poultry exposure, crowded environments* Kittens Mized bowel diarrhea

Question 27

Tx for campylobacter

Answer 27

Probiotic + diet trial Tylosin or quinolone if probiotic fails

Question 28

Clinical signs of salmonella

Answer 28

Mixed bowel diarrhea Fever, neutropenia or neutrophilia Raw protein, poultry exposure Crowded cat environments Songbirds

Question 29

Salmonella tx

Answer 29

Diarrhea only = probiotics, diet Antibiotics only if bacteremia (ampicillin IV +/- quinolones)

Question 30

What is the treatment for boxer colitis?

Answer 30

Enrofloxacin for 6-8wks minimum

Question 31

What bacteria has spore forming rods on fecal?

Answer 31

Clostridium

Question 32

Does proof of clostridium confirm cause of diarrhea?

Answer 32

No

Question 33

Acute hemorrhagic diarrhea syndrome in the dog

Answer 33

Clostridium perfringens Elevated PCV Acute onset lg bowel Stressful situation *Exclude hypoadrenocorticism with a screening cortisol*

Question 34

Tx for clostridium perfringens?

Answer 34

High fiber diet or probiotic trial Abx only after diet fails or the animal is septic (tylosin, amoxicillin, metro)

Question 35

Parvovirus evolved from what?

Answer 35

Feline panleukopenia virus

Question 36

Clinical findings of parvoviral infections

Answer 36

Vomiting +/- diarrhea (often bloody) Fever, neutropenia

Question 37

How is parvovirus diagnosed?

Answer 37

Clinical and lab findings Fecal antigen test Fecal PCR panels *Can use canine ag tests with cat feces*

Question 38

What is the potential parvo PCR problem?

Answer 38

Modified live vaccines Transient shedding in feces Fecal PCR = may be positive for a few days, leads to misdiagnosis

Question 39

Parvo tx in-patient

Answer 39

IV fluids Cefoxitin (2nd gen cephalosporin) Maropitant NG tube Highly digestible, bland food

Question 40

What are alternate abx choices for parvovirus?

Answer 40

Enroflox + Ampicillin or Metro

Question 41

Parvo tx out-patient

Answer 41

SQ fluids by owner Maropitant Cefovecin Oral support ASAP

Question 42

Should I discharge my canine and feline parvovirus cases with oral antibiotics?

Answer 42

No