Ollulanus tricuspis in Turkish cats: first clinical case and molecular confirmation

This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of the gastric nematode Ollulanus tricuspis in domestic cats in Samsun province, Türkiye, and to perform molecular phylogenetic analysis of the obtained isolates. Following the initial diagnosis of O. tricuspis in a domestic cat presenting with chronic vomiting, stomach contents from 50 necropsied cats were microscopically examined for a broader survey. The ITS-1, 5.8S, and ITS-2 gene regions of the parasites obtained from positive samples were amplified and sequenced using PCR. Phylogenetic analyses were performed using the maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian inference (BI) analyses. The prevalence of O. tricuspis in the examined samples was determined to be 6%. Literature data show a wide variation in global prevalence, ranging from 0.2% (USA) to 42% (Australia). This study is the first report to reveal the presence of O. tricuspis at the molecular level in Türkiye.