Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Anaplasma infection found in domestic cats in Pakistan
By Ahmed, Arslan et al.·Published in Comparative immunology, microbiology and infectious diseases·2020·Department of Veterinary Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Molecular evidence of Anaplasma infection in naturally affected domestic cats of Pakistan.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of domestic cats in Lahore, Pakistan, were tested for a tick-borne disease called anaplasmosis after showing signs of illness. The study found that about 13% of the cats had the infection, which can lead to lower blood cell counts and other health issues. Factors like tick infestations and poor house hygiene were linked to higher infection rates. This research is important for understanding how to prevent and treat anaplasmosis in cats.
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Abstract
Feline anaplasmosis is considered as an emerging tick-borne disease of zoonotic potential. The aim of current study was to investigate the molecular prevalence of anaplasmosis, associated risk factors, and alterations in hematological parameters of domestic cats from Lahore, Pakistan. Blood samples of 100 domestic cats from district Lahore were examined microscopically and the extracted genomic DNA from each sample was processed for the amplification of 16 S rRNA gene of Anaplasma. PCR confirmed isolates were purified for sequencing. The data regarding the risk factors was collected in a predesigned questionnaire and statistically analyzed by logistic regression analysis. The study found a molecular prevalence of 13% (13/100) among analyzed blood samples. The nucleotide analysis of Anaplasmataceae species sequences amplified by PCR showed high resemblance (99%) with isolates from Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, and India. The potential risk factors found to be significantly associated (p < 0.05) with disease dynamics based on the Chi-Square test were tick infestation on studied animals, previous tick history, tick control status, house hygiene, and housing type. A significant (p < 0.05) decrease in the number of platelets, erythrocytes, hemoglobin level, and pack cell volume was observed in cats suffering from anaplasmosis compared to the healthy ones. The current study is the first report of Anaplasma infection in domestic cats of Pakistan. This study will be effectual in designing the control strategies for this disease.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32829184/