Prevalence of selected infectious disease agents in stray cats in Catalonia, Spain

Ravicini, Sara; Pastor, Jose J.; Hawley, Jennifer; Brewer, Melissa; Castro‐López, Jorge; Beall, Melissa J.; Lappin, Michael R.

doi:10.1177/2055116916634109

Cited by 25 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…The results showed that the prevalence of FHV-1 and FCV was 11.3 and 27.8%, respectively, and the prevalence of the two viruses was statistically significant (Table 2). This result was the same as that of previous epidemiological studies, which revealed that infections with FCV were more common (Henzel et al, 2015;Ravicini et al, 2016;Fernandez et al, 2017). In addition, the screening results using dnRT-PCR and conventional RT-PCR/PCR are consistent, and the concordance rates were 99.13% for FHV-1 and 98.26% for FCV (Table 3), respectively, suggesting that the dnRT-PCR could be used as a highly specific and sensitive method to differentiate FHV-1 and FCV in clinical samples.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

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

Yi¹

2018

PVJ

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The aim of this study was to develop a novel duplex nested RT-PCR (dnRT-PCR) method which can simultaneously detect and distinguish feline herpesvirus type 1 (FHV-1) and feline calicivirus (FCV) in cats with upper respiratory tract disease (URTD) and evaluate the performance of this assay in clinical screening. Four pairs of primers based on TK gene of FHV-1 and ORF2 gene of FCV were designed, respectively, and a dnRT-PCR assay was developed and evaluated. A total of 115 clinical swaps of cats collected from private veterinary clinics and animal shelters in Jilin province between November 2016 and May 2017 were used to evaluate this newly developed dnRT-PCR method compared with conventional assay. The results indicated that the detection limits of this method were 10 1.0 TCID50/ml, 10 2.2 TCID50/ml and 10 2.0 TCID50/ml for FHV-1, FCV and a mixture of the two viruses which were 100-fold and 1000-fold higher than single and duplex conventional RT-PCR/PCR, respectively, and was also highly specific. Clinical screening indicated the concordance rates for dnRT-PCR and single conventional RT-PCR/PCR were 99.13% (kappa=0.955) for FHV-1 and 98.26% (kappa=0.956) for FCV, respectively. These results suggest that the duplex nested RT-PCR is a rapid and sensitive method that is useful for clinical diagnosis and etiological investigation of feline caolicivirus and feline herpesvirus.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

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

Yi¹

2018

PVJ

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“…A higher molecular prevalence was previously found in Sicily in a study using a nested-PCR where positivity was 70.6% in blood, 72.9% in lymph node aspirates, and 60.0% in oral swabs and B. henselae was the only sequenced species [ 8 ]. In other European countries, lower blood PCR prevalences were reported ranging 1–22.4%, and this might be due to the exposure of investigated cats to fleas or the assays used [ 3 – 5 , 28 , 31 , 36 , 37 ]. However, also in these latter studies, B. henselae was usually more frequent than B. clarridgeiae and only in one cat was B. kholerae DNA was sequenced [ 37 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Clinical evaluation of outdoor cats exposed to ectoparasites and associated risk for vector-borne infections in southern Italy

et al. 2018

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BackgroundCats can be carriers of infected arthropods and be infected with several vector-borne pathogens (VBP) but there is limited knowledge about their pathogenic role in cats.ResultsA cross-sectional controlled study investigated the clinical status and antibody (Bartonella henselae, Rickettsia conorii, Ehrlichia canis, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Babesia microti and Leishmania infantum) and/or blood PCR (Mycoplasma spp., Bartonella spp., Rickettsia spp., Ehrlichia/Anaplasma spp., piroplasmids, L. infantum, Hepatozoon felis) prevalence in 197 cats. Outdoor cats lacking ectoparasiticide treatment or hosting ectoparasites (study group [SG], n = 134) and indoor cats treated against ectoparasites (control group [CG], n = 63) were enrolled. Clinical data and retroviral co-infections were compared between the two groups. Multivariable analysis tested associations between variables and VBP exposure. Lymphadenia, stomatitis, and various haematological abnormalities were statistically more frequent in SG. Antibodies against R. conorii, B. henselae, A. phagocytophylum, B. microti, E. canis and L. infantum were detected. Bartonella henselae, Bartonella clarridgeiae, Mycoplasma haemofelis, “Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum” and “Candidatus Mycoplasma turicensis” DNA were identified. Very high antibody (87.8%) and PCR (40.1%) positivity to at least one pathogen were detected and were significantly higher in SG. Co-infections were confirmed in about one-third of the cats and were more frequent in SG cats. Molecular and overall (antibody and PCR) positivity to Bartonella and antibody positivity to R. conorii were higher in SG. Multivariable analysis found significant associations of Bartonella spp. infection with Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) infection and increased globulins, and of Mycoplasma spp. infection with adult age, FIV infection, anaemia, and increased creatinine.ConclusionsA very high prevalence of exposure to zoonotic VBP was found in cats, with Rickettsia and Bartonella infections being most prevalent. Some risk factors were documented namely for Mycoplasma spp. and Bartonella spp. The lifestyle of cats is clinically relevant and requires specific preventative measures to protect their health.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13071-018-2725-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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“…There are just a few studies reporting hemoplasma infection in cats in Spain [9,20,21] and, to our knowledge, no epidemiological studies on these bacteria have been performed in the central region of the country. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of feline hemoplasmas (Mhf, CMhm and CMt) in cats from Madrid, central Spain, and to characterize risk factors and clinical signs associated with these feline infections in the area.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Epidemiological study of hemotropic mycoplasmas (hemoplasmas) in cats from central Spain

et al. 2018

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BackgroundHemotropic mycoplasmas (hemoplasmas) have been found infecting cats worldwide. However, studies about feline hemoplasma infections in Spain are scarce. Therefore, the purpose of the research was to evaluate the prevalence of feline hemotropic mycoplasmas and to characterize risk factors and clinical findings associated with these infections in a cat population from the Madrid area, Spain.MethodsPolymerase chain reaction (PCR) was employed to detect Mycoplasma haemofelis (Mhf), “Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum” (CMhm) and “Candidatus Mycoplasma turicensis” (CMt) in blood samples from 456 client-owned and 138 stray cats from Madrid. In order to assess associations between these hemoplasma infections and epidemiological parameters, data regarding signalment, environment, prophylaxis measures, retrovirus status, clinical signs and laboratory findings were compiled, whenever possible.ResultsDNA of feline hemoplasmas was detected from the blood of 63 out of 594 cats (10.6%), with a prevalence of 3.7% (22/594) for Mhf, 8.1% (48/594) for CMhm and 0.5% (3/594) for CMt. Stray cats had statistically higher prevalences of feline hemoplasmas (15.9%) and, specifically, of Mhf (8.7%) than client-owned cats (9 and 2.2%, respectively). A total of seven cats (1.17%) were co-infected with “Candidatus M. haemominutum” and M. haemofelis, two (0.33%) with “Candidatus M. haemominutum” and “Candidatus M. turicensis” and another one (0.17%) with M. haemofelis and Candidatus “M. turicensis”. Male gender, collection of blood during warm months and FeLV/FIV positivity status were associated with hemotropic mycoplasma infection in cats from Madrid. Additionally, within the group of client-owned cats, hemoplasma infection was associated with adult age, outdoor access, and the existence of low haematocrit, erythrocyte count and haemoglobin concentration values.ConclusionsTo our knowledge, this is the first epidemiological survey of feline hemoplasmas performed in central Spain (Madrid). Our study confirms that “Ca. Mycoplasma haemominutum”, Mycoplasma haemofelis and “Ca. Mycoplasma turicensis” are infecting client-owned and stray cats in this region of Spain, “Ca. Mycoplasma haemominutum” being the most prevalent species. More studies are necessary to help understand the role of the natural infection by these species of hemoplasma in cats.

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Prevalence of selected infectious disease agents in stray cats in Catalonia, Spain

Cited by 25 publications

References 32 publications

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

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

Clinical evaluation of outdoor cats exposed to ectoparasites and associated risk for vector-borne infections in southern Italy

Epidemiological study of hemotropic mycoplasmas (hemoplasmas) in cats from central Spain

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