Učestalost i prostorno pojavljivanje plućnog nametnika Aelurostrongylus abstrusus u mačaka u Hrvatskoj.

Lungworm Aelurostrongylus abstrusus is a cat\u27s lung parasite with an indirect life cycle. Its predominant sites are terminal bronchioles and alveolar ducts. In the study, two populations of cats were examined. The first group consisted of feral cats (N=50) in the rural areas of the County of Zagorje (northwest Croatia), while the second group included cats from the urban area of the City of Zagreb. For the second group, data were collected from faecal examination (N=529) from the Department of Parasitology and the gross and histopathological findings of cats\u27 lungs (N=128) at the Department of General Pathology and Pathological Morphology of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagreb. In the first group, histopathological examination was carried out and the Ae. abstrusus was diagnosed in 22% (N=11); in the second group, Ae. abstrusus was diagnosed in 0.38% (N=2) of the faecal examinations in the eight year period (1990-1998) and 3.9% (N=5) on histopathological examination of cats\u27 lungs, also in the same period. Histopathological examination showed alveoli, bronchiole, and alveolar ducts filled with eggs and larvae of Ae. abstrusus, disruption of alveolar septa, cellular infiltrate (mostly eosinophils, macrophages, lymphocytes and few multinucleated giant cells), peribronchial cell infiltration, and a striking hyperplasia and hypertrophy of smooth muscle, i.e. medial layer, of the pulmonic arteries.Plućni nametnik mačaka Aelurostrongylus abstrusus ima neizravan životni ciklus u plućima mačaka. Najčešće se nalazi u terminalnim bronhiolima i alveolama. U radu su istraživane dvije populacije mačaka. Prvu skupinu su činile mačke lutalice (N=50) iz neurbaniziranih djelova Hrvatskog zagorja, a druga je obuhvaćala mačke iz zagrebačkog područja. Za drugu skupinu mačaka podaci su dobijeni koprološkim pretragama (N=529) obavljenim u Zavodu za Parazitologiju i analizom makroskopskih i patološkohistoloških nalaza razudenih mačaka (N=128) u Zavodu za opću patologiju i patološku morfologiju Veterinarskog fakulteta u Zagrebu u razdoblju od osam godina (1990. 1998.). U prvoj skupini mačaka utvrđena je aelurostrongiloza u 22% (11 mačaka) pregledanih životinja. Koprološkom pretragom ova parazitoza je utvrđena samo u 0,38% slučajeva, dok je histopatološka pretraga dokazala ovu bolest u 3,9% slučajeva. Histološki, utvrđene su alveole i bronhioli ispunjeni s jajašcima i larvama parazita Aelurostrongylus abstrusus, pucanje alveolarnih septi, stanični infiltrat (već inom eozinofili, makrofagi, limfociti i poneka divovska stanica), peribronhijalna stanična infiltracija te upečatljiva hiperplazija i hipertrofija glatkog mišićja plućnih arterija