Molecular detection of feline arthropod-borne pathogens in cats in Cuiabá, state of Mato Grosso, central-western region of Brazil

Abstract

Hemotrophic mycoplasmas (hemoplasmas), Bartonella sp., Hepatozoon sp. and Cytauxzoon felis are prominent pathogens that circulate between cats and invertebrate hosts. The present study aimed to detect the presence of DNA from hemoplasmas, Bartonella sp., Hepatozoon sp. and Cytauxzoon felis, and then confirm it by means of sequencing, in blood samples from cats in Cuiabá, MT, Brazil. From February 2009 to February 2011, blood samples with added EDTA were collected from 163 cats that were being housed in four different animal shelters in the city of Cuiabá, state of Mato Grosso, Brazil and from 15 cats that were admitted to the veterinary hospital of the Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT). Out of the 178 cats sampled, 15 (8.4%) were positive for hemoplasmas: four (2.2%) for Mycoplasma haemofelis, 12 (6.7%) for 'Candidatus M. haemominutum' and one (0.5%) for 'Candidatus M. turicensis'. One cat (0.5%), a patient that was attended at the veterinary hospital, was coinfected with M. haemofelis, 'Candidatus M. haemominutum' and 'Candidatus M. turicensis', based on sequencing confirmation. Four cats were positive for Bartonella spp.: three (1.7%) for B. henselae and one (0.5%) for B. clarridgeiae. None of the animals showed Cytauxzoon sp. or Hepatozoon sp. DNA in their blood samples. This study showed that cats housed in animal shelters in the city of Cuiabá, state of Mato Grosso, are exposed to hemoplasmas and Bartonella species.

Molecular detection of hemotrophic mycoplasmas among domiciled and free-roaming cats in Campo Grande, state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

“…Herein, 22 cats (14.6%) were coinfected by two hemoplasmas and three (1.9%) by three hemoplasmas. In agreement with our findings, coinfections with two or three feline hemoplasma species have also been reported (SYKES et al, 2008;WILLI et al, 2006a, b;FUJIHARA et al, 2007;PETERS et al, 2008;GENTILINI et al, 2009;TASKER et al, 2003;JENSEN et al, 2001;LOBETTI;TASKER, 2004;LURIA et al, 2004;DE BORTOLI et al, 2012;BRAGA et al, 2012;MICELI et al, 2013). The present study shows that hemoplasmas circulate among domiciled and stray cats in Campo Grande, State of Mato Grosso do Sul, in central-western Brazil.…”

“…Furthermore, the molecular occurrences of M. haemofelis (12.3%), 'Candidatus M. haemominutum' (18.5%) and 'Candidatus M. turicensis' (9.2%) found among free-roaming cats housed in the CCZ of the city of Campo Grande, state of Mato Grosso do Sul, were higher than those found among free-roaming cats maintained in animal shelters in the city of Cuiabá, state of Mato Grosso (2.2; 6.7; 0.5%, respectively) (MICELI et al, 2013). The poor fitness observed among free-roaming cats, in comparison with domiciled cats, can be explained by the poor nutritional support and likely presence of coinfections in this cat population.…”

“…Although hemoplasma infection has been documented in cats in several regions of Brazil (DE MORAIS et al, 2007;MACIEIRA et al, 2008;SANTOS et al, 2009;BRAGA et al, 2012;DE BORTOLI et al, 2012;MICELI et al, 2013), few reports clarifying actual epidemiology have yet been published and São Paulo (ANDRÉ et al, 2011).…”

“…Previous studies conducted in Brazil have focused on different cat populations, such as animals maintained in animal shelters MICELI et al, 2013), domiciled cats with outdoor access (BRAGA et al, 2012), cats subjected to a spaying/neutering program (DE BORTOLI et al, 2012) and cats attended at veterinary clinics (MACIEIRA et al, 2008). The molecular occurrences of M. haemofelis (10.5%), 'Candidatus M. haemominutum' (12.8%) and 'Candidatus M. turicensis' (10.5%) found in the present study among domiciled cats subjected to a spaying/neutering program in the CCZ of Campo Grande were higher than those found by de Bortoli et al (2012) (2.2%; 4.3%; 2.2%), who sampled a similar population of cats in the city of Jaboticabal, state of São Paulo.…”

“…Hemoplasma infections among cats have been reported in some areas in Brazil over the last decade (MACIEIRA et al, 2008;DE BORTOLI et al, 2012;BRAGA et al, 2012;MICELI et al, 2013). Because of the potential risk to human health (SANTOS et al, 2008), the present study aimed to clarify the epidemiology of hemoplasmas in domiciled and free-roaming cats in Campo Grande, state of Mato Grosso do Sul (MS), Brazil.…”