Schulz Catharina, Hartmann Katrin, Mueller Ralf S, Helps Chris, Schulz Bianka S
Clinic of Small Animal Medicine, LMU University of Munich, Munich, Germany
Clinic of Small Animal Medicine, LMU University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
J Feline Med Surg. 2015 Dec;17(12):1012-9. doi: 10.1177/1098612X15569615. Epub 2015 Feb 6.
Feline herpesvirus-1 (FHV-1), feline calicivirus (FCV) and Chlamydia felis are involved in feline upper respiratory tract disease (FURTD). Clinical signs caused by these agents can overlap, and the involvement of certain pathogens is often unpredictable. The objectives of this study were to compare detection rates of FHV-1, FCV and C felis at different sampling sites, and to investigate the correlation between positive test results and clinical signs in cats with FURTD.
Swabs were taken from the nose, pharynx, tongue and conjunctiva of 104 cats with signs of FURTD. Real-time PCR was performed on all samples for the detection of FHV-1, FCV and C felis.
Infectious agents were identified in 93 (89.4%) cats. Of these, 55.8% were positive for FHV-1, 50.0% for FCV and 35.6% for C felis. FCV was found more frequently in the oropharynx (92.3% of FCV-positive cats) and on the tongue (90.4%) than the conjunctiva (38.5%) (P <0.001). There was no significant difference between the four sampling sites for the detection of FHV-1 and C felis. If nasal samples had also been taken, 94.9% of FHV-1-positive cats, 96.2% of FCV-positive cats and 81.1% of C felis-positive cats would have been detected.
The oropharynx can be recommended as the preferred single sampling site for the detection of FCV, FHV-1 and C felis if only one sample can be taken; however, taking samples at different sites significantly increases the detection rate for all pathogens studied. Interestingly, sampling from a site with FURTD-associated lesions did not increase the likelihood of detecting the infectious agents.
猫疱疹病毒1型（FHV-1）、猫杯状病毒（FCV）和猫衣原体与猫上呼吸道疾病（FURTD）有关。这些病原体引起的临床症状可能重叠，而且某些病原体的感染情况往往不可预测。本研究的目的是比较不同采样部位FHV-1、FCV和猫衣原体的检出率，并调查FURTD猫阳性检测结果与临床症状之间的相关性。
对104只出现FURTD症状的猫的鼻腔、咽部、舌头和结膜进行拭子采样。对所有样本进行实时PCR检测FHV-1、FCV和猫衣原体。
在93只（89.4%）猫中鉴定出感染因子。其中，FHV-1阳性率为55.8%，FCV为50.0%，猫衣原体为35.6%。在口咽部（FCV阳性猫的92.3%）和舌部（90.4%）发现FCV的频率高于结膜（38.5%）（P<0.001）。检测FHV-1和猫衣原体的四个采样部位之间没有显著差异。如果也采集鼻腔样本，94.9%的FHV-1阳性猫、96.2%的FCV阳性猫和81.1%的猫衣原体阳性猫将被检测出来。
如果只能采集一个样本，口咽部可作为检测FCV、FHV-1和猫衣原体的首选单一采样部位；然而，在不同部位采样可显著提高所有研究病原体的检出率。有趣的是，从有FURTD相关病变的部位采样并没有增加检测到感染因子的可能性。
