MONITORING OF ECTOPARASITES IN STRAY DOMESTIC CATS IN THE CITY OF CHERNIHIV
Abstract
Stray domestic cats (Felidae, Felis catus) potentially serve as hosts forsome life-threatening zoonotic pathogens, including ectoparasites such asfleas, ticks, and lice. These ectoparasites are capable of transmitting zoonotic diseases. Cats (Felis catus) were trapped in the summer of 2023 using cage traps baited with raw red meat in recreational parks in the city of Chernihiv. The collected cats were transferred to the laboratory, and ectoparasites were removed from the skin using forceps and combing for five minutes for each cat. Ectoparasites were preserved in 70% ethanol and later used for species identification using identification keys. Forty-one cats were collected from these surveyed areas. Among all trapped cats, 26 specimens (63.4%) were infected with 83 ectoparasites, with an average infection level of 3.19 per cat. Six species of arthropods were identified, including four species of fleas (89.2%), one species of lice (8.4%), and one species of ticks (2.4%). The four flea species included Ctenocephalides canis (39.8%), Ctenocephalides felis (18.1%), Xenopsylla nubica (16.9%), and Pulex irritans (14.5%). One species of lice was Trichodectes canis (8.4%), and one species of tick was identified as Hyalomma spp. (2.4%). Based on the obtained data, Ctenocephalides canis was the most prevalent ectoparasite species (39.8%). Fleas were the most common ectoparasites on Felis catus, with the highest prevalence observed for Ctenocephalides canis. Due to the large and increasing population of cats and the high risk of transmission of common diseases between humans and cats, as well as the high level of contact and interaction between humans and cats, we studied ectoparasites of cats caught in parks in the city of Chernihiv. Keywords: fleas, lice, ticks, zoonoses, stray cats, parks. The ticks belonged to the family Hyalomma spp. Previous studies clarified the northern border of the modern range of Hyalomma marginatum on the territory of Ukraine, which passes through the north of Odesa, Mykolaiv, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhіa, Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Regular findings of H. marginatum in non-typical habitats play a role in the spread of pathogens dangerous to humans and animals to new territories, where the latter may pose a threat of widespread epidemics and epizootics. The findings emphasize the need for regular monitoring of homeless cats in urban societies where there is a risk of transmission of zoonotic pathogens.
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