Diagnostic spectrum
see also => Lungworm Profil Cat (service ID 8790)
General information
The adults, which are 0.5 to 1.5 cm in size, live in the bronchioles and alveoli of cats and wild felids. They release eggs into the alveoli and terminal bronchioles. The larvae hatch there, enter the pharynx through coughing, are swallowed and excreted in the faeces. Various snails and slugs serve as intermediate hosts in which the development into infective L3 larvae takes place. Transport hosts such as mice and rats, but also birds, amphibians and reptiles play an important epidemiological role. In cats, the L3 larvae reach the lungs through the lymphatic system and the bloodstream when the intermediate or transport host is eaten.
Egg or larvae production usually lasts for 5 – 6 months, after that the infection is selflimiting and the cat remains immune to further infections with L3. Therefore, mainly young animals or immunocompromised cats are affected.
Lungworm infections can be asymptomatic, detection of lungworm larvae is often an incidental finding during routine coproscopic examinations. Mild to severe respiratory symptoms are also possible, including coughing, nasal discharge, tachypnoea and dyspnoea. Young animals are more frequently affected and usually suffer more severely.