Aelurostrongylosis in a young kitten in the UK

Quantitative PCR (CTDS Laboratories) analysis of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues confirmed the diagnosis of Aelurostrongylus abstrusus (with a very low cycle threshold level, ie, extensive infection). The kittens were removed by a rescue charity on 31 October 2018, at approximately six weeks of age, and treated with a single dose of topical fipronil, (S)-methoprene, praziquantel and eprinomectin (Broadline; Boehringer Ingelheim/Merial). The potential for vertical transmission from queen to litter is suggested by a study in Italy, which found Troglostrongylus brevior lungworm in kittens of less than one month of age.3 Although this has not been documented in A abstrusus, the possibility that kittens in this litter might have acquired infection directly from their mother, through the placenta or via milk, cannot be excluded.