RESUMEN
OBJECTIVES: For over two decades, feline trichomonosis caused by Tritrichomonas foetus has been recognized as a large-bowel protozoan disease of the domestic cat. It has a wide distribution, but no reports exist in the Caribbean. The objectives of this study were to detect the presence of T foetus and its prevalence in the domestic cat on St Kitts, West Indies. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed between September 2014 and December 2015. This study recruited 115 feral cats from a trap-neuter-return program and 37 owned cats treated as outpatients at the university veterinary clinic. Fresh feces were inoculated in InPouch culture medium, as per the manufacturer's instructions. In addition, PCR was performed using primers for T foetus. DNA extraction with amplification using primers of a Feliscatus NADH dehydrogenase subunit 6 was used as a housekeeping gene for quality control. RESULTS: Only two owned cats had reported diarrhea in the preceding 6 months. None of the 152 samples were positive on InPouch culture microscopic examination. Only 35/69 feral cat fecal DNA samples were positive for the housekeeping gene, of which none tested PCR positive for T foetus. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: T foetus was not detected by culture and PCR in feral cats and owned cats on St Kitts. A high proportion of PCR inhibitors in the DNA samples using a commercial fecal DNA kit can lead to underestimating the prevalence, which should be taken into consideration when a survey on gastrointestinal pathogens depends exclusively on molecular detection.
RESUMEN
In the Caribbean region, Dirofilaria immitis (heartworm) has been detected on almost all of the islands. While it is assumed to be endemic throughout the region, there is a lack of baseline data from the Leeward Islands (north-east of the Caribbean region). The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence and the spatial distribution of heartworm disease in dogs on St. Kitts, a small 174km2 island which is part of the Leeward Islands. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2014 with 100 dogs tested using a commercial antigen test. Dogs were from all regions of the island except the southeastern region, which differs socio-economically from the rest of the island. Heartworm was not detected in these 100 dogs. To complete the survey, in 2015, fifteen dogs from the southeast region were tested, eight of which were positive for heartworm. Prevalence was estimated at 7.0% (95% confidence interval: 4.6-11.6). Data from two other sources were added to complete the report: data from dogs enrolled in a free spay and neuter program and tested against heartworm (164 dogs with 3 positive for heartworm), and the data from positive dogs diagnosed at the Ross University Veterinary Clinic in 2014 and 2015 (3 dogs). Most of the heartworm positive dogs (10/14) lived in a delimited area in the southeast of the island. These results indicate an overall low prevalence of Dirofilaria immitis in St. Kitts, lower than that observed in the other Caribbean islands. Heterogeneity in the spatial distribution of the parasite was observed, with the majority of cases residing in the southeast of the island. Previous spatial models focused on the spread of the parasite over large geographical areas and long distances, but not within a restricted area. Our results indicate the presence of local factors which may have limited spread of the disease over short distances. Further studies are needed to understand this markedly heterogeneous distribution.