In March 2024, over thirty global leaders in parasitology, pharmacology, zoonoses and feline medicine came together to discuss the latest developments in feline parasitology, and debate where the focus needs to be to improve cat care most effectively. The 3rd Scientific Roundtable, hosted by Vetoquinol in Lisbon, Portugal, delivered a packed three-day agenda that facilitated knowledge sharing, lively discussion and even the promise of exciting collaboration to further existing research programmes.
Many topics were covered, following four key pillars of focus – ‘Science and innovation’, ‘Feline parasitology’, ‘Feline medicine and behaviour’, and ‘One Health and zoonoses’. One of the key outtakes is that while lots of important work is being done, there could be huge benefits for both feline and human health if feline parasitology was placed higher on the agenda at multiple levels of the veterinary and scientific sector.
Science & Innovation
Despite the wealth of feline-specific research activity presented at the Roundtable event, wider evidence indicates that cats are generally neglected as a species within scientific literature. Cats outnumber dogs in many regions – there are 127 million cats and 104 million dogs living in Europe for example – yet there is a clear mismatch when it comes to the number of published scientific articles specifically related to each of the species.
This species gap may be reflected in clinical practice too, with anecdotal reports from multiple Roundtable delegates that fewer parasitological diagnostic procedures are performed on cats compared to dogs. This could be due to several factors – cats may not be presented for regular veterinary examination (the possible reasons for which are numerous), there may be feline-specific barriers to proceeding with diagnostic investigation, or veterinarians are not placing parasites as high on differential diagnostic lists for their feline as for their canine patients. Again, the root causes of this could be varied, including lack of awareness or confidence.
“Cats are just less parasitically investigated. For every cat faecal sample that is submitted to our diagnostic laboratory at the University of Adelaide, Australia there are 9 canine samples.” – Dr. Ryan O’Handley, University of Adelaide, Australia
The Roundtable attendees commonly agreed that cats need to be studied more if we are to comprehend the true extent and nature of the feline parasite challenges that must be addressed. A big part of achieving this is understanding the barriers to feline-specific research projects being made possible, something that Vetoquinol is keen to facilitate.
Feline Parasitology To truly understand parasitological risks, research relating to feline parasites is equally important at both micro- and macroscopic levels – from genome analysis to broader consideration of regional and global parasite distribution.
One example of the benefits of a research focus on the genetic make-up of parasites came from Dr. Jeba Jesudoss Chelladurai, Kansas State University, USA, who shared how genome sequencing research has uncovered that there are likely two species of Dipylidium caninum which demonstrate host specificity. She postulated that the praziquantel resistance experienced in dogs in some regions is likely not an issue for the feline-specific species of the flea tapeworm, meaning that the risk-benefit analysis of treatment for cats could be very different to dogs.
