Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37807080›Full record

ArticleParasites & vectors2023

What is the role of Swiss domestic cats in environmental contamination with Echinococcus multilocularis eggs?

Rebecca Furtado Jost, Norbert Müller, Nelson Marreros, Gastón Moré, Loic Antoine, Walter Basso, Caroline F Frey

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Parasites & vectors, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
1.3field-weighted citation impact, top 19% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Prevalence and molecular characterization ofInternational journal for parasitology. Parasites and wildlife · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Cestodes in Eurasian wolves (International journal for parasitology. Parasites and wildlife · 2025
    Article
  5. Genetic diversity and genotyping ofFrontiers in parasitology · 2025
    Review
  6. Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2024
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Rebecca Furtado JostInstitute of Parasitology, Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Länggassstrasse 122, 3012, Bern, Switzerland.
Norbert MüllerInstitute of Parasitology, Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Länggassstrasse 122, 3012, Bern, Switzerland.
Nelson MarrerosSchool of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences HAFL, Bern University of Applied Sciences, Länggasse 85, 3052, Zollikofen, Switzerland.
Gastón MoréInstitute of Parasitology, Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Länggassstrasse 122, 3012, Bern, Switzerland.
Loic AntoineBoehringer-Ingelheim Animal Health, 29 Avenue Tony Garnier, 69007, Lyon, France.
Walter BassoInstitute of Parasitology, Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Länggassstrasse 122, 3012, Bern, Switzerland.
Caroline F FreyInstitute of Parasitology, Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Länggassstrasse 122, 3012, Bern, Switzerland. caroline.frey@unibe.ch.
University of Bern · CHBern University of Applied Sciences · CHDépartement Santé Animale · FR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe role of the domestic cat as definitive host for Echinococcus multilocularis and thus in environmental contamination with eggs has not yet been entirely resolved. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of E. multilocularis and other gastrointestinal parasites in Swiss domestic cats and to compare the diagnostic sensitivity of different methods for the detection of intestinal taeniid infection.

methodsFaecal samples from 146 cats were included in the study. Faecal samples only were available from 55 cats; for the other 91 cats, necropsy was performed in addition to faecal sample testing. All (n = 146) faecal samples were analysed by a combined sedimentation/flotation technique (44% ZnCl

resultsOf the 146 cats examined, 24 (17.1%) were infected by intestinal parasites, namely Hydatigera (syn. Taenia) taeniaeformis (8.9%), Toxocara cati (6.1%), Capillaria sp. (3.4%), hookworms (3.4%), Mesocestoides litteratus (1.4%), Giardia sp. (1.4%), Cystoisospora rivolta (1.4%), Cystoisospora felis (0.7%), Toxoplasma gondii (0.7%), Hammondia hammondi (0.7%) and Strongyloides sp. (0.7%). Necropsy and the IST revealed adult H. taeniaeformis in 12 animals, of which eight faecal samples were positive by the CEST-qPCR (sensitivity = 67%) and six samples by the sedimentation/flotation technique (sensitivity = 50%). No E. multilocularis infection was detected in the sampled cats. Using Bayesian latent class analysis, the mean posterior prevalence probability was 0.0% (95% confidence interval 0-0.83%) for E. multilocularis.

conclusionsThere was no evidence of E. multilocularis infection among the 146 cats examined, suggesting that the prevalence of this parasite is low (< 1%) in the Swiss domestic cat population. Nonetheless, some of the sampled cats were infected by parasites that have rodents as intermediate hosts, demonstrating successful predation by these cats, and some were infected with zoonotic parasites. Cats therefore should not be disregarded as potential hosts for E. multilocularis and other zoonotic parasites.

Indexed as

Cat DiseasesEchinococcus multilocularisIntestinal Diseases, ParasiticParasitesTaeniaAnimalsBayes TheoremCatsFecesMultiplex Polymerase Chain ReactionSwitzerlandCoprologyCopro-qPCRFox tapewormHydatigeraIntestinal scraping techniqueMesocestoidesStrongyloidesTaeniaToxocara catiToxoplasma gondiiZoonoses

Identifiers

PMID37807080
PMCPMC10561489
OpenAlexW4387440703

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.