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

Author(s)

Natasha Gandolfi Miceli ^[1] ; Fernando Antonio Gavioli ^[2] ; Luiz Ricardo Gonçalves ^[3] ; Marcos Rogério André ^[4] ; Valéria Régia Franco Sousa ^[5] ; Keyla Carstens Marques de Sousa ^[1] ; Rosangela Zacarias Machado ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Estadual Paulista Julio Mesquita Filho UNESP, FCAV, Dept Patol Vet, Lab Imunoparasitol, BR-14884900 Jaboticabal, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Fed Mato Grosso UFTM, Cuiaba, MT - Brazil

^[3] Universidade Estadual Paulista “Julio de Mesquita Filho”. Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias. Departamento de Patologia Veterinária - Brasil

^[4] Universidade Estadual Paulista “Julio de Mesquita Filho”. Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias. Departamento de Patologia Veterinária - Brasil

^[5] Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso - Brasil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Revista Brasileira de Parasitologia Veterinária; v. 22, n. 3, p. 385-390, 2013-09-00.

Abstract

Hemotrophic mycoplasmas (hemoplasmas), Bartonellasp., 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. andCytauxzoon 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%) forMycoplasma 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 showedCytauxzoon 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 andBartonella species. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 11/04665-1 - Detection and molecular characterization of Bartonella spp. in domestic felines from Cuiabá, Mato Grosso State
• Grantee: Natasha Gandolfi Miceli
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation