Blood smear from a pregnant cat that died shortly after partial abortion

Abstract

A 1-year-old, 5- to 6-week pregnant cat was presented with a history of aborting 3 kittens the previous night. During the examination, the cat began to seizure and died. At necropsy, formalin-fixed tissues and blood smears prepared from an EDTA blood sample collected via cardiac puncture were submitted to a diagnostic laboratory. Examination of the blood smears revealed numerous large (15-75 microm) clumped macrophages containing dark blue intracytoplasmic organisms consistent with Cytauxzoon merozoites. Scattered erythrophagocytic macrophages were also observed. Within several erythrocytes, 1-2 small, round, ring-like piroplasms consistent with Cytauxzoon were observed. Histologic examination revealed numerous large, schizont-laden macrophages filling the blood vessels of multiple organs. The cytologic and histologic findings were diagnostic for Cytaxuzoon felis infection. This case was of particular interest because of the unusually large number of organism-laden macrophages in the cardiac blood sample, an uncommon finding in peripheral blood. Although the cat was presented for complications of abortion, it remains uncertain whether C felis organisms crossed the placenta and infected the fetuses or lead to the abortions.

Infertility in purebred cats – A review of the potential causes

“…If a pregnant queen is seronegative, it may therefore be recommended to avoid her hunting and eating raw meat. Cytauxzoon felis , a tick-transmitted protozoal parasite has also been mentioned in a case report [ 48 ].…”

Two Tales of Cytauxzoon felis Infections in Domestic Cats

“…Another molecular technique is PCR, which has a high sensitivity and specificity (33,68,102,(107)(108)(109)(110)(111). So far, PCR target genes include the C. felis 18S rRNA gene (102), ITS-1 and ITS-2 (33,68,101,(108)(109)(110), and a multicopy mitochondrial gene (cox3) (111). PCR targeting the cox3 gene was more sensitive than that amplifying the 18S rRNA gene due to a higher copy number (111).…”

História natural da rangeliose

“…Isso não aconteceu com o cão 8 do presente estudo, pois nela a parasitemia apresentava-se inconsistente, ora sendo detectada, ora não, e posteriormente ao parto não foi mais detectável, o que poderia explicaria a ausência de transmissão. Em gatas, falhas na transmissão vertical de C. felis também já foram relatadas por Lewis et al (2012) em duas fêmeas com infecções crônicas e por Weisman et al (2007) em uma gata que veio a óbito por cytauxzoose um dia após abortar 3 filhotes. Em resumo, mais estudos são necessários para avaliar a via vertical de transmissão da R. vitalii em casos que se tornaram crônicos.…”

“…Em resumo, mais estudos são necessários para avaliar a via vertical de transmissão da R. vitalii em casos que se tornaram crônicos. Na fase aguda da doença estudos não são viáveis devido a severidade da enfermidade, que poderia levar ao óbito a fêmea e sua prole, assim como relatado em gatas por Weisman et al (2007) na infecção por C. felis.…”