Current knowledge about Aelurostrongylus abstrusus biology and diagnostic

Feline aelurostrongylosis, caused by the lungworm Aelurostrongylus abstrusus, is a parasitic disease with veterinary importance. The female hatches her eggs in the bronchioles and alveolar ducts, where the larva develop into adult worms. L1 larvae and adult nematodes cause pathological changes, typically inflammatory cell infiltrates in the bronchi and the lung parenchyma. The level of infection can range from asymptomatic to the presence of severe symptoms and may be fatal for cats. Although coprological and molecular diagnostic methods are useful for A. abstrusus detection, both techniques can give false negative results due to the presence of low concentrations of larvae in faeces and the use of inadequate diagnostic procedures. The present study describes the biology of A. abstrusus, particularly the factors influencing its infection and spread in intermediate and paratenic hosts, and the parasitic interactions between A. abstrusus and other pathogens.