LABOKLIN GmbH and Co. KG, Bad Kissingen, Germany.
Clinic for Small Animals, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Parasit Vectors. 2021 Feb 25;14(1):123. doi: 10.1186/s13071-021-04628-2.
Blood-feeding arthropods can transmit parasitic, bacterial, or viral pathogens to domestic animals and wildlife. Vector-borne infections are gaining significance because of increasing travel and import of pets from abroad as well as the changing climate in Europe. The main objective of this study was to assess the percentage of cats with positive test results for selected vector-borne pathogens in Germany and explore any possible association of such results with time spent abroad.
This retrospective study included test results from cats included in the "Feline Travel Profile" established by the LABOKLIN laboratory at the request of veterinarians in Germany between April 2012 and March 2020. This diagnostic panel includes the direct detection of Hepatozoon spp. and Dirofilaria spp. via PCR as well as indirect detection assays (IFAT) for Ehrlichia spp. and Leishmania spp. The panel was expanded to include an IFAT for Rickettsia spp. from July 2015 onwards.
A total of 624 cats were tested using the "Feline Travel Profile." Serum for indirect detection assays was available for all 624 cats; EDTA samples for direct detection methods were available from 618 cats. Positive test results were as follows: Ehrlichia spp. IFAT 73 out of 624 (12%), Leishmania spp. IFAT 22 out of 624 (4%), Hepatozoon spp. PCR 53 out of 618 (9%), Dirofilaria spp. PCR 1 out of 618 cats (0.2%), and Rickettsia spp. IFAT 52 out of 467 cats (11%) tested from July 2015 onwards. Three cats had positive test results for more than one pathogen before 2015. After testing for Rickettsia spp. was included in 2015, 19 cats had positive test results for more than one pathogen (Rickettsia spp. were involved in 14 out of these 19 cats).
At least one pathogen could be detected in 175 out of 624 cats (28%) via indirect and/or direct detection methods. Four percent had positive test results for more than one pathogen. These data emphasize the importance of considering the above-mentioned vector-borne infections as potential differential diagnoses in clinically symptomatic cats.
吸血节肢动物会将寄生虫、细菌或病毒病原体传播给家畜和野生动物。由于欧洲旅行和宠物进口的增加以及气候的变化，虫媒传染病的重要性日益增加。本研究的主要目的是评估德国猫中选定的虫媒病原体检测呈阳性的百分比，并探讨这些结果与在国外停留时间的任何可能关联。
这项回顾性研究包括了 2012 年 4 月至 2020 年 3 月期间，德国兽医根据 LABOKLIN 实验室的“猫旅行档案”要求对猫进行的检测结果。该诊断小组包括通过 PCR 直接检测 Hepatozoon spp. 和 Dirofilaria spp. ，以及间接检测（IFAT）用于检测埃立克体属和利什曼原虫属。该小组从 2015 年 7 月起扩大到包括用于检测立克次体属的 IFAT。
共有 624 只猫使用“猫旅行档案”进行了检测。所有 624 只猫均有间接检测血清样本；618 只猫有用于直接检测方法的 EDTA 样本。阳性检测结果如下：埃立克体属 IFAT 624 只猫中有 73 只（12%），利什曼原虫属 IFAT 624 只猫中有 22 只（4%），Hepatozoon spp. PCR 618 只猫中有 53 只（9%），Dirofilaria spp. PCR 618 只猫中有 1 只（0.2%），从 2015 年 7 月开始检测的 467 只猫中有 52 只（11%）Rickettsia spp. IFAT。2015 年以前，有 3 只猫有不止一种病原体的阳性检测结果。2015 年检测出立克次体属后，有 19 只猫有不止一种病原体的阳性检测结果（其中 14 只猫涉及立克次体属）。
通过间接和/或直接检测方法，在 624 只猫中至少有 175 只（28%）可检测到至少一种病原体。4%的猫有不止一种病原体的阳性检测结果。这些数据强调了在有临床症状的猫中，将上述虫媒传染病视为潜在鉴别诊断的重要性。
