Parasitic myelopathy by Gurltia Paralysans

Abstract

Parasitic myelopathy by Gurltia paralysans is, apparently,
a South American disease, but little is known about it. It is
a medullary disorder caused by a parasite that in its adult
form, it is lodged in the spinal veins of cats causing a hemorrhage
by suffusion that compromises the spinal cord in a
variable way.
It has been proposed that domestic cats are accidental
guests, and that small wild cats such as the huiña cat (Felis
guigna) in Chile, or the cat of the pampas (Felis geoffroyi)
in Brazil and Argentina, are the definitive hosts, housing
the parasite in the lung. Cats are likely infected by ingesting
small lizards. The affected animals present typical signs
of chronic myelopathy, with varying degrees of affection,
from ataxia to severe paraparesis, depending on the time
of evolution. The main lesions are between T10 and L2,
with projection up to L5-L6. The affected cats always live
in rural areas, and this parasitosis has not been diagnosed
in any urban area. The diagnosis is based on the clinical
history of slowly progressive chronic myelopathy and the
habitat of sick cats. Recently a PCR technique has been developed
that allows the identification of parasitic DNA in
the CSF of the affected cats. The treatment is based on the
application of ivermectin, and it is most effective if it is implemented
early.