Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How long does it take for ticks to infect cats with Cytauxzoon felis
By Thomas, Jennifer E et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2018·1 Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Minimum transmission time of Cytauxzoon felis by Amblyomma americanum to domestic cats in relation to duration of infestation, and investigation of ingestion of infected ticks as a potential route of transmission.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of domestic cats was tested to see how long they needed to be exposed to infected ticks (Amblyomma americanum) to catch a disease called Cytauxzoon felis. The study found that one cat became infected after being exposed for 48 hours, while none of the cats that ingested infected ticks got the disease. Most of the control group, which had no restrictions on tick exposure, did become infected. This suggests that cats can catch Cytauxzoon felis after being bitten by infected ticks for at least 36 hours, but eating the ticks is not a common way for them to get sick.
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Abstract
Objectives The objectives of the present study were to determine the duration of infestation by Amblyomma americanum necessary for transmission of Cytauxzoon felis to domestic cats and to determine if ingestion of C felis-infected A americanum by cats is a route of transmission. Methods Forty-nine cats were assigned to one of seven groups, with seven cats per group. Cats were infested with A americanum adults, acquisition fed as nymphs on a cytauxzoonosis survivor cat, for 12 h (group 1), 18 h (group 2), 24 h (group 3), 36 h (group 4), 48 h (group 5) and to repletion (group 7; control). Cats in group 6 were fed C felis-infected ticks. Thumb counts were performed at the end of the duration of infestation for groups 1-5 and at 48 h for the control group. For group 6, 50 live C felis-infected adult A americanum were mixed with food and fed to each of the cats. Transmission of C felis was determined by examining blood of cats by DNA extraction followed by PCR. Results Of 50 ticks placed on each cat (groups 1-5 and 7), the arithmetic mean attachment ± SEM ranged from 46.9 ± 1.9 in group 3 to 49.3 ± 0.3 in group 1. In group 6, the average number ± SEM of ticks ingested was 46.5 ± 2.3. One cat in group 5 that had been infested for 48 h became infected with C felis. None of the cats in group 6 (ingestion) became infected with C felis. Six of 7 (85.7%) cats in group 7, the control group, became infected with C felis. Conclusions and relevance Our results indicate that transmission of C felis to domestic cats can happen as quickly as >36 h but ⩽48 h of exposure to A americanum infected with C felis and that ingestion of C felis-infected A americanum is not a likely route of transmission.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28151047/