Epidemiological Survey of Tick-Borne Protozoal Infection in Iriomote Cats and Tsushima Leopard Cats in Japan

Abstract

ABSTRACT. This epidemiological survey was conducted to determine the prevalence of Hepatozoon, Babesia and Theileria infection in the Iriomote cat (IC) and the Tsushima leopard cat (TLC). Blood samples from 43 ICs and 14 TLCs were collected between November 2002 and January 2012. Polymerase chain reaction and DNA sequencing analyses detected a Hepatozoon felis infection prevalence of 72.0% (31/43 cats) and 100% (14/14 cats) in ICs and TLCs, respectively. The degree of Hepatozoon parasitemia observed on blood smears ranged from 0.1 to 4.7%. However, no cases had obvious clinical signs of hepatozoonosis. Neither Babesia-nor Theileria-infected wildcats were detected in this study.

Molecular survey of arthropod-borne pathogens in ticks obtained from Japanese wildcats

“…Our previous study showed a high prevalence of H. felis in ICs and TLCs, and the present study referred to those data indicating H. felis infection in host animals (Tateno et al, 2013a; Tables 2 and 3). We found that several tick species (H. longicornis, H. hystricis A. testudinarium, H. megaspinosa, I. tanuki, and H. campanulata) harbored Hepatozoon sp., all of which were confirmed to be H. felis.…”

“…In a previous study we were unable to detect the DNA of Babesia sp. in blood samples from both ICs and TLCs (Tateno et al, 2013a). Furthermore, a previous molecular epidemiological study failed to detect Babesia sp.…”

“…The methods used for pathogen detection were identical to those previously described (Hirata et al, 2012;Tateno et al, 2013b). However, the sampling period for the study by Tateno et al (2013a) included that of the present study and both of studies shared blood samples collected during overlapping sampling periods. Thus, the PCR results that we present here for Hepatozoon and Babesia in blood samples were obtained from data published in Tateno et al (2013a).…”

“…The PCR results of Hepatozoon in blood samples were obtained from published data inTateno et al (2013a).…”

Hepatozoon silvestris sp. nov.: morphological and molecular characterization of a new species of Hepatozoon (Adeleorina: Hepatozoidae) from the European wild cat (Felis silvestris silvestris)

“…Since then, Hepatozoon spp. have been reported in domestic cats and various species of wild cats, and it is assumed that two or more species could be found in felids worldwide (Criado-Fornelio et al 2006; Kubo et al 2010; Pawar et al 2012; Baneth et al 2013; Tateno et al 2013). However, the parasite in cats was also referred to as Hepatozoon -like or Hepatozoon spp., without committing to a certain species, as the studies which described it were based only on morphological or genetic descriptions (Klopfer et al 1973; Baneth et al 1998; Perez et al 2004; Rubini et al 2006; Metzger et al 2008; Ortuño et al 2008; Salakij et al 2008).…”