Manvell Charlotte, Ferris Kelli, Maggi Ricardo, Breitschwerdt Edward B, Lashnits Erin
Intracellular Pathogens Research Laboratory, Comparative Medicine Institute, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27606, USA.
Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27606, USA.
Pathogens. 2021 Sep 21;10(9):1221. doi: 10.3390/pathogens10091221.
Reservoir to multiple species of zoonotic pathogens, free-roaming cats (FRCs) interact with domestic and wild animals, vectors, and humans. To assess the potential for feline vector-borne pathogens to be vertically transmitted, this study surveyed ear tip and reproductive tissues of FRCs from two locations in the South Atlantic United States for , hemotropic , and species. We collected ovary ( = 72), uterus ( = 54), testicle ( = 74), and ear tip ( = 73) tissue from 73 cats, and fetal ( = 20) and placental ( = 19) tissue from 11 queens. Pathogen DNA was amplified utilizing qPCR, confirmed by sequencing. Cats were more frequently positive on reproductive tissues (19%, 14/73) than ear tip (5%, 4/73; = 0.02). was amplified from fetus (20%, 4/20) and placenta samples (11%, 2/19). spp. infection was more common in cats from North Carolina (76%, 26/34) than Virginia (13%, 5/39; < 0.0001). Fourteen percent (10/73) of both ear tip and reproductive tissues were positive for hemotropic spp. , and spp. DNA was not amplified from any cat/tissue. These findings suggest that preferentially infected cats' reproductive tissue and reinforces the importance of investigating the potential for vertical transmission or induction of reproductive failure.
作为多种人畜共患病原体的宿主，流浪猫（FRCs）与家畜、野生动物、病媒和人类相互作用。为评估猫媒传播病原体垂直传播的可能性，本研究调查了美国南大西洋两个地点的流浪猫的耳尖和生殖组织，以检测 、嗜血性 和 物种。我们从73只猫身上收集了卵巢（ = 72）、子宫（ = 54）、睾丸（ = 74）和耳尖（ = 73）组织，以及从11只母猫身上收集了胎儿（ = 20）和胎盘（ = 19）组织。利用qPCR扩增病原体DNA，并通过测序进行确认。猫的生殖组织中 呈阳性的频率（19%，14/73）高于耳尖（5%，4/73； = 0.02）。从胎儿（20%，4/20）和胎盘样本（11%，2/19）中扩增出了 。 属感染在北卡罗来纳州的猫（76%，26/34）中比弗吉尼亚州的猫（13%，5/39； < 0.0001）更常见。耳尖和生殖组织中14%（10/73）的嗜血性 属呈阳性，且未从任何猫/组织中扩增出 属DNA。这些发现表明 优先感染猫的生殖组织，并强化了调查 垂直传播或导致生殖失败可能性的重要性。
