Prevalence of feline herpesvirus-1, feline calicivirus, Chlamydophila felis and Mycoplasma felis DNA and associated risk factors in cats in Spain with upper respiratory tract disease, conjunctivitis and/or gingivostomatitis

Abstract

Objectives Our objective was to perform the first multicentric study in Spain to evaluate the prevalence of feline herpesvirus-1 (FHV-1), feline calicivirus (FCV), Chlamydophila felis and Mycoplasma felis in cats with upper respiratory tract disease (URTD), conjunctivitis and/or gingivostomatitis (GS) compared with control cats; and to evaluate risk factors for these clinical conditions. Methods Conjunctival and oropharyngeal swabs were collected and a questionnaire regarding signalment, lifestyle, vaccination history and clinical signs was obtained for each cat. Swabs were tested for each pathogen by real-time PCR. Results The study population consisted of 358 cats, including 98 control cats. Among the 260 diseased cats, 127 cats presented with URTD, 149 cats had conjunctivitis, 154 cats were suffering GS; many cats presented more than one clinical condition. The prevalence observed of FHV-1, FCV, C felis and M felis was, respectively, 28.3%, 48.0%, 20.5% and 46.5% in cats with URTD; 24.2%, 43.6%, 19.5% and 38.3% in cats with conjunctivitis; and 15.6%, 58.4%, 9.1% and 37.7% in cats with GS. Prevalences in the control group were 6.1%, 15.3%, 2.0% and 20.4%, respectively. Coinfections were common among all groups of cats. Risk factors were identified for all groups. FHV-1, FCV and C felis were associated with URTD and conjunctivitis. FCV was strongly associated with GS. M felis was present in a high percentage of the population in all groups, but its role in these clinical conditions remains uncertain. Vaccination was protective for URTD and GS but not for conjunctivitis. Conclusions and relevance This epidemiological study describes, for the first time, prevalence for FHV-1, FCV, C felis and M felis in Spain. In general, the prevalences found are similar to those reported in other countries. Factors associated with disease expression were also identified, which are relevant for practitioners.

Correlation between clinical signs of feline conjunctivitis and molecular detection of felid herpesvirus-1, feline calicivirus, chlamydophila felis and mycoplasma felis in cats from shelters in Rio de Janeiro

“…Particularly the occurrence of virus both in mono-or co-infections helps clarify the role of those agents in ocular surface infections. Co-infections were very common in the present study as reported in previous studies (BERGER et al, 2015;FERNANDEZ et al, 2016).…”

“…felis was previously associated with the severity of ocular signs (FERNANDEZ et al, 2016). In the present study C. felis DNA was detected in association with other pathogens in 53.8% of the samples scored 4.…”

“…The use of molecular techniques such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) allows early and conclusive diagnosis of infectious conjunctivitis, providing that appropriate therapy could be instituted (LOW et al, 2007;RUCH-GALLIE et al, 2011;SÁNCHEZ et al, 2012;BARRADO et al, 2014;FERNANDEZ et al, 2016). The management of infected cats within a multi-cat household situation requires appropriate separation of cats and routine hygiene practices for facilities and personnel also viral shedding may occur without clinical signs of conjunctivitis (MAGGS et al, 1999;CLARKE, 2005).…”

Recombinase Polymerase Amplification Assay—A Simple, Fast and Cost-Effective Alternative to Real Time PCR for Specific Detection of Feline Herpesvirus-1

“…The most important etiologic agents for URTD that are prevalent in cats include FHV-1, feline calicivirus and Chlamydia [1,[15][16][17]. Identification of the particular agents in URTD is essential for a better understanding of the pathogenesis of individual infections and corresponding clinical management.…”

Rapid Detection of Feline Calicivirus and Feline Herpesvirus by Duplex Nested RT-PCR

“…Among these pathogens, FCV and FHV-1 are highly contagious and are responsible for most cases of URTD (Holst et al, 2010;Sykes, 2014). Clinical cases of FCV are generally more common, but FHV-1 appears to induce more severe clinical symptoms than FCV (DiGangi et al, 2012;Fernandez et al, 2017). Despite active vaccination programs, the high prevalence of these viruses (10-34% and 20-53% for FHV-1 and FCV, respecitively), which is due to their antigenic diversity and the inabilities of current vaccines, remains a major cause of veterinary care costs and euthanasia in animal hospitals (Najafi et al, 2014;Jas et al, 2015;Fernandez et al, 2017).…”