Laboratório de Patologia Clínica Veterinária, Faculdade de Agronomia E Medicina Veterinária (FAV/UnB), Universidade de Brasília, CEP, Campus Universitário Darcy Ribeiro, ICC Centro - Asa Norte, Brasília, Distrito Federal, 70910-900, Brazil.
Department of Clinical Sciences, North Carolina State College of Veterinary Medicine, Raleigh, NC, USA.
Parasitol Res. 2022 Sep;121(9):2561-2570. doi: 10.1007/s00436-022-07602-8. Epub 2022 Jul 25.
Feline piroplasmids include the genera Babesia spp., Cytauxzoon spp., and Theileria spp. In Brazil, there are few reports regarding these hemoprotozoans; however, clinicopathological and molecular data are scarce. This study aimed to characterize the clinical relevance of these parasites through hematological, biochemical, and molecular approaches. For this purpose, 166 cats from Brasilia, Federal District, Midwestern Brazil, were screened using a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) for piroplasmids based on the LSU4 mitochondrial gene, which resulted in an overall prevalence of 36/166 (21.7%). Twelve of 166 samples (7.2%) were positive for C. felis, while 19/166 (11.4%) were positive for Babesia vogeli. No samples tested positive for Theileria spp. Babesia vogeli and Cytauxzoon spp. LSU4 sequences showed identities of 97-100% and 99.3%, respectively, to US isolates. The hematological and biochemical findings did not differ significantly between the cats that tested positive and negative for piroplasmids. Although the lack of abnormalities in clinical and laboratory parameters does not eliminate the possibility that these cats were sick and recovered, it may suggest that the Brazilian strain of Cytauxzoon spp. is not as pathogenic as that from the USA, despite the high molecular identity with North American isolates.
猫梨形虫包括巴贝斯虫属、考克斯氏体属和泰勒虫属。在巴西，有关这些血液原生动物的报道很少；然而，临床病理和分子数据却很缺乏。本研究旨在通过血液学、生化和分子方法来描述这些寄生虫的临床相关性。为此，对来自巴西首都巴西利亚的 166 只猫进行了筛查，采用基于 LSU4 线粒体基因的定量聚合酶链反应（qPCR）检测梨形虫，总阳性率为 36/166（21.7%）。12 份（7.2%）样本对猫巴贝斯虫呈阳性，19 份（11.4%）样本对卵形巴贝斯虫呈阳性。没有样本对泰勒虫属呈阳性。卵形巴贝斯虫和考克斯氏体属 LSU4 序列的同一性分别为 97-100%和 99.3%，与美国分离株一致。血液学和生化发现之间在梨形虫检测阳性和阴性的猫之间没有显著差异。尽管临床和实验室参数无异常并不能排除这些猫患病并康复的可能性，但这可能表明巴西考克斯氏体属的菌株不如来自美国的菌株那样具有致病性，尽管与北美的分离株具有很高的分子同一性。
