Detection of hemoplasma and Bartonella species and co-infection with retroviruses in cats subjected to a spaying/neutering program in Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil

Abstract

Hemotrophic mycoplasmas and Bartonella species are important pathogens that circulate between cats and invertebrate hosts, occasionally causing diseases in humans. Nevertheless, there are few reports on occurrences of these agents in cats in Brazil. The present study aimed to detect the presence of hemoplasma and Bartonella DNA by means of PCR and sequencing. FIV antigens and anti-FeLV antibodies, were studied by using a commercial kit on blood and serum samples, respectively, among 46 cats that were sampled during a spaying/neutering campaign conducted in Jaboticabal, SP. Three (6.5%) cats were positive for hemoplasmas: two (4.3%) for 'Candidatus M. haemominutum' and one (2.2%) for both M. haemofelis and 'Candidatus M. turicensis'. One of the two 'Candidatus M. haemominutum'-infected cats was also positive for FeLV antigens and showed antibodies for FIV. Two cats (4.3%) were positive for B. henselae. One of them was also positive for FeLV antigens. Eight cats (17.4%) were positive for FeLV, and just one (2.2%) showed anti-FIV antibodies. Bartonella species and hemoplasmas associated with infection due to retroviruses can circulate among apparently healthy cats.

Molecular detection of hemotrophic mycoplasmas among domiciled and free-roaming cats in Campo Grande, state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

“…Although hemoplasma infection has been documented in cats in several regions of Brazil (DE MORAIS et al, 2007;MACIEIRA et al, 2008;SANTOS et al, 2009;BRAGA et al, 2012;DE BORTOLI et al, 2012;MICELI et al, 2013), few reports clarifying actual epidemiology have yet been published and São Paulo (ANDRÉ et al, 2011).…”

“…Previous studies conducted in Brazil have focused on different cat populations, such as animals maintained in animal shelters MICELI et al, 2013), domiciled cats with outdoor access (BRAGA et al, 2012), cats subjected to a spaying/neutering program (DE BORTOLI et al, 2012) and cats attended at veterinary clinics (MACIEIRA et al, 2008). The molecular occurrences of M. haemofelis (10.5%), 'Candidatus M. haemominutum' (12.8%) and 'Candidatus M. turicensis' (10.5%) found in the present study among domiciled cats subjected to a spaying/neutering program in the CCZ of Campo Grande were higher than those found by de Bortoli et al (2012) (2.2%; 4.3%; 2.2%), who sampled a similar population of cats in the city of Jaboticabal, state of São Paulo.…”

“…Hemoplasma infections among cats have been reported in some areas in Brazil over the last decade (MACIEIRA et al, 2008;DE BORTOLI et al, 2012;BRAGA et al, 2012;MICELI et al, 2013). Because of the potential risk to human health (SANTOS et al, 2008), the present study aimed to clarify the epidemiology of hemoplasmas in domiciled and free-roaming cats in Campo Grande, state of Mato Grosso do Sul (MS), Brazil.…”

Molecular detection of feline arthropod-borne pathogens in cats in Cuiabá, state of Mato Grosso, central-western region of Brazil

“…So far, hemoplasmas have been reported in cats in the states of Paraná (DE MORAIS et al, 2007), Rio de Janeiro (MACIEIRA et al, 2008), São Paulo (BATISTA, 2004;HORA, 2008;DE BORTOLI et al, 2012), Rio Grande do Sul (SANTOS, 2008) and Maranhão (BRAGA et al, 2012). The prevalences of M. haemofelis, 'Candidatus M. haemominutum' and 'Candidatus M. turicensis' were 2.2%, 6.7% and 0.5%, respectively.…”

“…In Brazil, the prevalences of hemoplasmas among healthy and anemic cats have been found to range from 2.1% to 38% for M. haemofelis; 4% to 13.5% for 'Candidatus M. haemominutum'; and 0.37% to 2.7% for 'Candidatus M. turicensis' (BATISTA, 2004;MACIEIRA et al, 2008;HORA, 2008;SANTOS et al, 2009;BRAGA et al, 2012;DE BORTOLI et al, 2012). DNA from Bartonella henselae and B. clarridgeiae was detected in three and one out of the 178 cats sampled (1.7%), respectively.…”