Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Nov 10;58(1):78.
doi: 10.1186/s13028-016-0260-1.

Prevalence of feline haemoplasma in cats in Denmark

Maja Benedicte Rosenqvist  1   2 , Ann-Katrine Helene Meilstrup  1   2 , Jesper Larsen  1   3 , John Elmerdahl Olsen  1 , Asger Lundorff Jensen  2 , Line Elnif Thomsen  4
Affiliations

Prevalence of feline haemoplasma in cats in Denmark

Maja Benedicte Rosenqvist et al. Acta Vet Scand. .

Abstract

Background: Infections with the three feline haemotropic mycoplasmas Mycoplasma haemofelis, Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum and Candidatus Mycoplasma turicensis cause feline infectious anemia. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of carriage of feline haemoplasma in Danish cats in different age groups. The presence was detected by a conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay on blood samples as well as by real-time PCR (RT-PCR).

Results: The study revealed a prevalence of 14.9% Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum positive cats and 1.5% Mycoplasma haemofelis positive cats. No cats were found positive for Candidatus Mycoplasma turicensis. The results showed a statistically significant higher prevalence in older (>8 years) cats compared to younger cats and a higher prevalence among domestic cats compared to purebred cats. As part of this study, we developed a cloning strategy to obtain Danish positive controls of haemoplasma 16S rRNA.

Conclusion: From convenience-sampled cats in Denmark, we found that 16.4% were carriers of feline haemotropic mycoplasmas. Haemoplasma was mostly found in older and domestic cats. The prevalence found in Denmark is similar to that found in several other European countries.

Keywords: Conventional PCR; Feline haemoplasma; Prevalence; Real-time PCR; Risk factors.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Neimark H, Johansson KE, Rikihisa Y, Tully JG. Proposal to transfer some members of the genera Haemobartonella and Eperythrozoon to the genus Mycoplasma with descriptions of ‘Candidatus Mycoplasma haemofelis’, ‘Candidatus Mycoplasma haemomuris’, ‘Candidatus Mycoplasma haemosuis’ and ‘Candidatus Mycoplasma wenyonii’. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2001;51:891–899. doi: 10.1099/00207713-51-3-891. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Foley JE, Pedersen NC. Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum, a low-virulence epierythrocytic parasite of cats. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2001;51:815–817. doi: 10.1099/00207713-51-3-815. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Willi B, Boretti FS, Cattori V, Tasker S, Meli ML, Reusch C, et al. Identification, molecular characterisation and experimental transmission of a new hemoplasma isolate from a cat with hemolytic anaemia in Switzerland. J Clin Microbiol. 2005;43:2581–2585. doi: 10.1128/JCM.43.6.2581-2585.2005. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Foley JE, Harrus S, Poland A, Chomel B, Pedersen NC. Molecular, clinical, and pathologic comparison of two distinct strains of Haemobartonella felis in domestic cats. Am J Vet Res. 1998;59:1581–1588. - PubMed
    1. Jensen WA, Lappin MR, Kamkar S, Reagan WJ. Use of a polymerase chain reaction assay to detect and differentiate two strains of Haemobartonella felis in naturally infected cats. Am J Vet Res. 2001;62:604–608. doi: 10.2460/ajvr.2001.62.604. - DOI - PubMed

Substances