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Prevalence of Cytauxzoon felis infection in healthy free-roaming cats in north-central Oklahoma and central Iowa.

ABSTRACT: Case summary Cytauxzoonosis is a tick-borne disease of cats, and Oklahoma (OK), USA, is considered an enzootic state. To determine the prevalence of Cytauxzoon felis, blood was collected from free-roaming cats, as they are frequently exposed to tick vectors. Our objective was to determine the prevalence of C felis infection in free-roaming cats in north-central Oklahoma and central Iowa (IA). Infection with C felis was determined using DNA extracted from blood and PCR amplification. Blood was collected from 380 free-roaming cats between January and April in 2014 in OK. DNA from C felis was detected in 3/380 (0.8%; 95% confidential interval [CI] 0.22-2.3%). In IA, 292 blood samples were collected between 2012 and 2014. No C felis-infected cats were detected (0; 95% CI 0-0%). Relevance and novel information The prevalence of C felis (0.8%) in north-central OK reported herein was lower than the previously reported 3.4% in domestic cats in OK. Our study supports that the prevalence in a given enzootic area can vary by location and from the pool of cats sampled. None of 291 (0%) cats were infected with C felis in central IA. To date, only one case of cytauxzoonosis in a domestic cat has been reported in IA. It is important to monitor cats for C felis infections in northern US states, as geographic distribution of Amblyomma americanum expands northward. As free-roaming cats have more contact with the tick vectors of C felis, this population allows us to monitor the expansion of C felis distribution.

SUBMITTER: Nagamori Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5362915 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan-Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Prevalence of Cytauxzoon felis infection in healthy free-roaming cats in north-central Oklahoma and central Iowa.

Nagamori Yoko Y Slovak Jennifer E JE Reichard Mason V MV

JFMS open reports 20160101 1

Case summary Cytauxzoonosis is a tick-borne disease of cats, and Oklahoma (OK), USA, is considered an enzootic state. To determine the prevalence of Cytauxzoon felis, blood was collected from free-roaming cats, as they are frequently exposed to tick vectors. Our objective was to determine the prevalence of C felis infection in free-roaming cats in north-central Oklahoma and central Iowa (IA). Infection with C felis was determined using DNA extracted from blood and PCR ...[more]

PMID: 28491429

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Project description:BackgroundCytauxzoon felis is a tick-transmitted apicomplexan that causes cytauxzoonosis in domestic cats (Felis catus). Even with intensive care, the mortality rate of acute cytauxzoonosis approaches 40% in domestic cats, while bobcats (Lynx rufus), the natural intermediate host of C. felis, remain clinically asymptomatic. However, multiple reports of domestic cats surviving acute disease without any treatment exist. One hypothesis for survival of these cats is infection with unique C. felis genotypes of lower pathogenicity. Prior studies have identified genetically distinct C. felis isolates containing polymorphisms within internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS) of the rRNA operon. However, these polymorphisms do not correlate with the clinical outcome of cytauxzoonosis, and so additional genetic markers are needed to test this hypothesis. We selected C. felis apical membrane antigen-1 (ama1) as a potential genetic marker of differential pathogenicity. AMA1 is a vaccine candidate for relatives of C. felis within Plasmodium spp.; however its historically high level of genetic polymorphism has resulted in escape from vaccine-induced immunity. While such diversity has hindered vaccine development, the expected polymorphism within the ama1 gene may be useful to evaluate population genetics.ResultsA 677 bp sequence of the C. felis ama1 gene was PCR-amplified from 84 domestic cats and 9 bobcats and demonstrated 99.9% sequence identity across all samples. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) was identified in domestic cats and bobcats with evidence for co-infection with both genotypes identified in two domestic cats. The prevalence of the two genotypes varied with geographical distribution in domestic cats. Nucleotide diversity (π) and haplotype diversity (H) were calculated for C. felis ama1 and ama1 of related apicomplexans to assess genetic diversity. Based on these values (π = 0.00067 and H = 0.457), the diversity of the C. felis ama1 gene region analyzed is considerably lower than what is documented in related apicomplexans.ConclusionsIn surprising contrast to related apicomplexans, our results support that the sequence of the C. felis ama1 gene is highly conserved. While lack of genetic diversity limits utility of C. felis AMA1 as a genetic marker for clinical outcome, it supports further investigation as a vaccine candidate for cytauxzoonosis.

Dataset Information

Prevalence of Cytauxzoon felis infection in healthy free-roaming cats in north-central Oklahoma and central Iowa.

Publications

Prevalence of <i>Cytauxzoon felis</i> infection in healthy free-roaming cats in north-central Oklahoma and central Iowa.

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