Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Infectious germs found in shelter cats with upper respiratory disease
By Veir, Julia K et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2008·College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Prevalence of selected infectious organisms and comparison of two anatomic sampling sites in shelter cats with upper respiratory tract disease.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of shelter cats with upper respiratory issues was tested to find out which germs were causing their symptoms. Most of the cats had feline herpesvirus-1, while Mycoplasma species were found in many others. Some cats also had Bordetella bronchiseptica, which is another respiratory infection. The study compared samples taken from the nose and throat, finding that both sites were equally good for detecting these germs. Understanding these infections can help shelters treat sick cats more effectively.
People also search for: cat upper respiratory infection treatment · feline herpesvirus symptoms · Bordetella bronchiseptica in cats
Abstract
In order to describe the isolation rates of potential pathogens and to compare anatomic sampling site suitability, nasal and pharyngeal swabs were taken from cats with acute clinical upper respiratory disease in a humane society. DNA of feline herpesvirus-1 was amplified from 51 of 52 cats sampled, Mycoplasma species were cultured or detected by PCR in samples from 34 of 42 cats sampled for both culture and PCR, and Bordetella bronchiseptica was isolated from three of 59 cats sampled for aerobic culture. A single swab was positive for calicivirus and no swabs were positive for Chlamydophila felis. Mycoplasma, Pasteurella and Moraxella species were all isolated from at least one cat in which no primary pathogen was identified. With the exception of B. bronchiseptica, which was detected in nasal swabs only, recovery rates for all suspect primary pathogens were comparable between sampling sites.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18539065/