Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cats recovered from Mycoplasma turicensis get faster anemia
By Baumann, Julia et al.·Published in Veterinary research·2015·Vetsuisse Faculty·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Lack of cross-protection against Mycoplasma haemofelis infection and signs of enhancement in "Candidatus Mycoplasma turicensis"-recovered cats.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of ten cats was tested to see if recovering from one type of blood infection (Candidatus Mycoplasma turicensis) would protect them from a more severe infection (Mycoplasma haemofelis). Surprisingly, the cats that had recovered from the first infection actually showed signs of getting sick faster when exposed to the second infection compared to those that had never been infected. Symptoms included anemia and changes in their blood cell counts. Interestingly, half of the infected cats were able to clear the infection on their own without antibiotics. This suggests that previous infections can affect how a cat responds to new infections.
People also search for: cat anemia treatment · Mycoplasma haemofelis symptoms · cat blood infection recovery
Abstract
"Mycoplasma haemofelis" and "Candidatus Mycoplasma turicensis" are feline hemoplasmas that induce hemolytic anemia. Protection from homologous re-challenge was recently demonstrated in cats recovered from primary infection. Here, we determined if cats recovered from "Cand. M. turicensis" infection were protected against infections with the more pathogenic M. haemofelis. Ten specified pathogen-free cats were exposed to M. haemofelis. Five of the ten cats had recovered from "Cand. M. turicensis" bacteremia (group A), and five cats were naïve controls (group B). No cross-protection was observed. By contrast, the "Cand. M. turicensis"-recovered cats displayed faster M. haemofelis infection onset (earlier PCR-positive and anemic) than the controls. No "Cand. M. turicensis" was detected in any cat. M. haemofelis shedding was observed in saliva, feces and urine. In both groups, evidence of a Th1 response was observed (high IFN-γ, low IL-4), but IL-10 levels were also high. In group A, total, CD4+ and CD8+ T cells increased within days after M. haemofelis exposure. At times of maximal bacteremia, macrocytic hypochromic anemia, neutropenia, monocytosis and a decrease in leukocyte, eosinophil, and lymphocyte counts and subsets thereof (B- and T-cells, CD4+, CD8+ and CD4+CD25+ cells) were particularly significant in group A. Moreover, an increase in protein concentrations, hypoalbuminemia and a polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia were observed. Five of ten M. haemofelis-infected cats subsequently cleared bacteremia without antibiotic treatment. In conclusion, the study suggests that a previous hemoplasma infection, even when the cat has ostensibly recovered, may influence subsequent infections, lead to an enhancement phenomenon and other differences in infection kinetics.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26403079/