Detection of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in a cat

Górna, M.; Adaszek, Łukasz; Policht, K.; Skrzypczak, Maciej; Winiarczyk, S.

doi:10.17221/6655-vetmed

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“… 40 One cat tested negative as soon as 1 day after the initiation of treatment with doxycycline. 9 In contrast, however, some studies have described that the pathogen was no longer detectable in blood via PCR after treatment with doxycycline on day 15, 16 after 3 weeks, 11 on days 25, 27 and 30, 17 after 6 weeks 12 and on day 139. 17 A further case report documented that the pathogen was detectable via PCR 8 days after starting treatment with doxycycline; 8 in another cat it was detectable even 120 days after the initial treatment period of 28–30 days.…”

Section: Treatment and Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While infections with A phagocytophilum occur commonly in dogs, the literature only rarely describes natural infections in cats. Case reports of A phagocytophilum infection in cats, based on detection by PCR, have been published in Germany, 5 – 8 Austria, 9 Poland, 10 , 11 Switzerland, 12 Italy, 13 the UK, 14 Finland, 15 Sweden 16 and the USA. 17 , 18 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection in cats: A literature review to raise clinical awareness

Schäfer

Kohn

2020

Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery

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Practical relevance: Granulocytic anaplasmosis is a disease in humans and animals caused by the Gram-negative bacterium Anaplasma phagocytophilum within the family Anaplasmataceae. The pathogen is transmitted by ticks of the Ixodes species. Infections with A phagocytophilum have often been described in dogs but reports on natural infections in cats are rare. An infection with A phagocytophilum should be considered as a differential diagnosis in cats if the history reveals tick infestation and/or outdoor access in combination with the relevant clinical signs. Global importance: A phagocytophilum is also important in human medicine because of its zoonotic potential. Due to the risk of vector-borne infections for both feline and public health, cats should be protected with ectoparasiticides, especially in endemic areas. Aim: The aim of this review is to give an overview of the published data and summarise the epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, clinical signs and therapy of feline granulocytic anaplasmosis. As clinical signs are vague and non-specific, this review aims to raise awareness of A phagocytophilum infection, both among clinicians, so that they consider testing potentially exposed cats, and scientists, in order to prompt further research. Evidence base: Sixteen publications describing 55 cats have been reviewed. Thirty-four cats were well diagnosed based on guidelines of the European Advisory Board on Cat Diseases and blood analyses were performed to varying extents for these cats. Because of the limited number of studies and a lack of knowledge in cats, clinical signs and blood analyses are compared with available data in dogs.

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Section: Treatment and Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection in cats: A literature review to raise clinical awareness

Schäfer

Kohn

2020

Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery

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“…Anaplasma phagocytophilum may cause granulocytic anaplasmosis in humans, dogs, horses and ruminants [ 4 ]. Anaplasmosis has been reported in dogs, cats and humans from Poland with evidence of autochthonous human cases [ 12 – 15 ]. Neoehrlichiosis was described in immunodeficient and previously healthy humans but also in immunodeficient dogs [ 1 , 3 , 16 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detection of selected pathogens in ticks collected from cats and dogs in the Wrocław Agglomeration, South-West Poland

et al. 2016

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BackgroundTick-borne infections are no longer confined to rural areas, they are documented with increasing frequency in urban settlements across the world. They are known to cause diseases in humans as well as in their companion animals.MethodsDuring a period of 2 years, from January 2013 until December 2014, ticks were collected from dogs and cats in 18 veterinary clinics in the Wrocław Agglomeration, Poland. In total, 1455 ticks were found on 931 pets: 760 domestic dogs and 171 cats. For molecular examinations 127 I. ricinus ticks (115 females and 12 males) were randomly selected, all collected I. hexagonus (n = 137, 32 females, 98 nymphs, 7 larvae) and all collected D. reticulatus (n = 46, 31 females, 15 males) were taken. Ixodes ricinus and I. hexagonus ticks were tested for Rickettsia spp., Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis and Babesia spp., while D. reticulatus ticks were investigated for Rickettsia spp. and Babesia spp. only.ResultsIn total, 65.4 % I. ricinus ticks were infected with at least one pathogen. Over 50 % of I. ricinus were positive for Rickettsia spp. (R. helvetica and R. monacensis). The infection level with A. phagocytophilum was 21.3 %. DNA of Cand. N. mikurensis was detected in 8.1 % I. ricinus ticks. Interestingly only female ticks were infected. The prevalence of Babesia spp. was confirmed in 9.0 % of I. ricinus involving the species B. microti and B. venatorum. A total of nineteen double, one triple and two quadruple infections were found in I. ricinus ticks only. Almost 11 % of I. hexagonus ticks were positive for at least one of the tested pathogens. Rickettsia spp. infection was found in 2.2 %, while A. phagocytophilum was detected in 8.1 % of I. hexagonus ticks. Only one nymph was positive for Cand. N. mikurensis and none of I. hexagonus ticks harbored a Babesia spp. Over 60 % of D. reticulatus ticks were positive for rickettsial DNA, exclusively belonging to the species R. raoultii.ConclusionThe high tick infestation rates and the prevalence of pathogens found in these ticks demonstrate a serious level of encounter to tick-borne diseases in urban dogs in the Wroclaw area, and provide evidence that dogs and cats themselves may substantially contribute to the circulation of the ticks and pathogens in the urban area.

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“…However in cats, clinically apparent disease together with a consistent molecular identification of the infecting agent has been rarely described. Well-documented feline cases have been reported from Austria [ 9 ], Finland [ 10 ], Germany [ 9 , 11 , 12 ], Poland [ 13 , 14 ], Sweden [ 15 ], Switzerland [ 9 ], the UK [ 16 ] and the USA [ 17 , 18 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Granulocytic anaplasmosis in cats from central Europe and molecular characterization of feline Anaplasma phagocytophilum strains by ankA gene, groEL gene and multilocus sequence typing

Kruppenbacher,

Müller,

Aardema

et al. 2023

Parasites Vectors

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Background Anaplasma phagocytophilum is a Gram-negative obligate intracellular bacterium that replicates in neutrophil granulocytes. It is transmitted by ticks of the Ixodes ricinus complex and causes febrile illness called granulocytic anaplasmosis primarily in humans, horses, dogs, sheep, cattle and goats. In comparison, clinically apparent disease has been described rarely in cats especially compared to dogs and horses. It is currently unknown whether cats are less susceptible to A. phagocytophilum or whether granulocytic anaplasmosis might be underdiagnosed in cats. Methods To address this question, we examined clinical signs and laboratory findings in seven A. phagocytophilum infected cats from Germany and Switzerland. We then genetically characterized feline A. phagocytophilum strains and compared them to those from other hosts showing clinically apparent disease. For this purpose, ankA-based, groEL-based and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) were applied. Furthermore, the concordance between these typing methods was assessed. Results Fever, lethargy and anorexia were the most common clinical signs in cats suffering from granulocytic anaplasmosis. The most frequent laboratory finding was thrombocytopenia. All three typing methods consistently indicated that the A. phagocytophilum strains found infecting cats are the same as those that cause disease in humans, dogs and horses. In general, the three typing methods applied exhibited high concordance. Conclusions The genetic characterization of the feline A. phagocytophilum strains indicates that strain divergence is not the explanation for the fact that granulocytic anaplasmosis is much less frequently diagnosed in cats than in dogs and horses. Otherwise, it may be possible that cats are less susceptible to the same strains than dogs and horse are. However, due to the unspecific clinical signs, it should be considered that granulocytic anaplasmosis may be under-diagnosed in cats. Graphical Abstract

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Detection of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in a cat

Cited by 7 publications

References 22 publications

Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection in cats: A literature review to raise clinical awareness

Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection in cats: A literature review to raise clinical awareness

Detection of selected pathogens in ticks collected from cats and dogs in the Wrocław Agglomeration, South-West Poland

Granulocytic anaplasmosis in cats from central Europe and molecular characterization of feline Anaplasma phagocytophilum strains by ankA gene, groEL gene and multilocus sequence typing

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