Cytauxzoon species are emerging apicomplexan haemoparasites (order Piroplasmida, family Theileriidae) of wild and domestic cats, transmitted by ticks. Cytauxzoon felis is the main species of felids found in the Americas and China while in the Old World Cytauxzoon manul and closely related species are reported.
Hepatozoonosis of domestic cats has been reported in several countries, mainly as a subclinical infection.
The infection has been described mostly in the same areas where canine infection is present and, in recent years, different species Hepatozoon felis and Hepatozoon silvestris, have been identified by molecular techniques.
The vector for
Tritrichomonas foetus is a protozoan organism that can cause predominantly large intestinal diarrhoea in cats. It is specific to cats, distinct from other Tritrichomonas species and not considered to be zoonotic. Infection is most common in young cats from multicat households, particularly pedigree breeding catteries.
Giardia is a protozoal parasite that infects the small intestine of cats and can cause diarrhoea. The biotypes considered as feline specific biotypes do not appear to infect humans, but zoonotic biotypes (isolated from human cases) are frequently found in cats.
Toxoplasma gondii infection is common in cats, but the clinical picture is rare. Up to 50% of cats, especially free-roaming ones, have antibodies indicating infection and the presence of cystic stages. Clinical signs usually appear when cats become immunosuppressed – in these situations, cystic stages can be reactivated.
After malaria and lymphatic filariasis, leishmaniosis is the third most important vector-borne disease in people;
Babesiosis is a tick-borne protozoal disease affecting domestic and wild animals and humans worldwide. Babesiosis is caused by parasites of the genus Babesia belonging to protozoan piroplasms (Alvarado-Rybak et al., 2016).
