Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Detecting feline hemoplasma infections using dried blood smears
By Sykes, Jane E et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation : official publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc·2008·Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Use of dried blood smears for detection of feline hemoplasmas using real-time polymerase chain reaction.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A study looked at how well dried blood smears could detect certain blood infections in cats caused by hemoplasmas, which are tiny bacteria that can affect their health. The researchers compared results from dried blood samples to liquid blood samples from 305 cats suspected of having these infections. They found that while dried blood smears were somewhat effective, liquid blood samples provided more accurate results. For the best chance of detecting these infections, it's recommended that veterinarians use liquid blood samples when testing for hemoplasmas in cats.
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Abstract
The objective of the current study was to determine the sensitivity and specificity of real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR) for feline hemoplasmas when applied to DNA extracted from dried whole-blood smears in comparison to that for DNA extracted from liquid whole blood. Blood samples were collected into ethylenediamine tetra-acetic acid tubes from 305 cats with possible or suspected hemoplasmosis, and dried blood smears from each sample were prepared. DNA was extracted from blood smears and a 160-microl aliquot of each liquid blood sample by using a robotic extractor and was subjected to real-time PCR for feline glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (liquid blood), 18S ribosomal RNA (dried blood), and "Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum", Mycoplasma haemofelis, and "Candidatus Mycoplasma turicensis" DNA. When using the results for liquid whole blood as the gold standard, the sensitivity of each assay for "Ca. M. haemominutum", M. haemofelis, and "Ca. M. turicensis" was 49 of 66 (74%), 11 of 13 (85%), and 11 of 20 (55%), respectively. The specificity of each assay was 224 of 234 (96%), 287 of 287 (100%), and 280 of 280 (100%), respectively. When possible, liquid blood samples should be submitted for detection of feline hemoplasmas by using real-time PCR. The improved sensitivity of real-time PCR on blood smears for M. haemofelis compared with that of the other hemoplasma species may reflect the higher organism burdens associated with infection with this species.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18776095/