Diagnóstico molecular da infecção por hemoplasmas em gatos domésticos naturalmente infectados da cidade de Belém, Pará

Abstract

Pesq. Vet. Bras. 33(9):1116-1120 Mycoplasma haemofelis, 'Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum' and 'Candidatus Mycoplasma turicensis' are the causative agent of the feline mycoplasmosis, which could cause acute or chronic anemia. The aim of this work was to determine the occurrence of hemoplamas in domestic cats from Belém, Pará. To this, 201 cats were divided into three groups: Group A were composed by 101 stray cats captured by Zoonosis Control Center, group B were composed by 62 owners healthy cats and group C were composed by 38 owners cats that were suffering by some medical condition. Blood samples were collected to perform Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) to detect the DNA of these agents, which were sequenced and aligned. Statistical analysis was performed to detect association between the infection, the sex of the animals and experimental groups. The DNA of at least one of the hemoplasmas studied were detected in 19,9% (40/201) of the samples, being the DNA of 'Candidatus M. haemominutum' was found in 7.96% (16/201) of samples, M. haemofelis in 1.49% (3/201) of samples, while 'Candidatus M. turicensis' in 12.93% (26/201) of the samples. The DNA of these three agents was detected in cats from groups A and C, while in Group B was detected only 'Candidatus M. turicensis' and 'Candidatus M. haemominutum'. The influence of sex on hemoplasma infection was detected only between 'Candidatus M. haemominutum' and males. These findings showed that hemoplasma circulate among domestic cats in Belém, and 'Candidatus M. turicensis' and 'Candidatus M. haemominutum' were more common than M. haemofelis, especially in stray cats.

Hematological changes associated with hemoplasma infection in cats in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

“…However, no hematological alteration, including anemia, was associated with positivity for 'Candidatus M. haemominutum' alone or for 'Candidatus M. turicensis'. This, in association with the laboratory findings regarding infection by M. haemofelis confirmed the distinct pathogenicity of the hemotropic mycoplasma species described in the literature, in which 'Candidatus M. haemominutum' and 'Candidatus M. turicensis' are considered to be less pathogenic species (FOLEY et al, 1998;HARVEY, 2006; TASKER, 2010; ARAGÃO- DE-SOUSA et al, 2013), such that infection with these species separately is not often associated with significant anemia. It is believed that cofactors such as retroviruses, coinfection by hemoplasmas and concomitant diseases could be involved in development and aggravation of the clinical signs (WILLI et al, 2006;MACIEIRA et al, 2008;TASKER, 2010;MARTÍNEZ-DÍAZ et al, 2013).…”

“…Occurrences of concurrent infection with two or more hemoplasma species are not common in the literature, such that this has only been found in a low percentage of cats or has even been absent (MACIEIRA et al, 2008;ARAGÃO-DE-SOUSA et al, 2013;SPADA et al, 2014). The present study provided the first report of triple coinfection in a cat in Rio de Janeiro and, interestingly, this cat did not show any hematological abnormality.…”

First detection of feline hemoplasmas in free-ranging jaguars ( Panthera onca )

“…Despite the small number of domestic cats sampled and their low exposure to hemoplasmas, our results demonstrate the circulation of Mhf/Mhc and CMhm in the Pantanal, and Mhf/Mhc and CMt in surroundings of ENP. Feline hemoplasmas in Brazil have been reported in domestic cats from different regions (Macieira et al, 2008;Biondo et al, 2009;Aragão de Souza et al, 2013;Miceli et al, 2013;Aquino et al, 2014;Santis et al, 2014).…”