Aelurostrongylus abstrusus induced pneumonia in cats: pathological and epidemiological findings of 38 cases (1987-1996)

摘要

A retrospective study was designed to obtain epidemiological information and describe the main histological alterations of Aelurostrongylus abstrusus induced pneumonia in cats submitted for routine necropsy during 1987-1996 at the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, Brazil. Prevalence varied from 5.9 to 25%, sexual predominance was not observed, infestation was more predominant in younger than in older cats, and only domestic short hair cats were diagnosed positive for A. abstrusus. Granulomatous pneumonia and hyperplasia and hypertrophy of the smooth muscles of pulmonary arteries and parenchyma were the predominant histological lesions observed, and occurred more frequently in cats that were less than 4 years old. The pathogenesis of the histological alterations is also described.