Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Teramo, 64100 Teramo, Italy.
Department of Animal Medicine, Production and Health, University of Padova, 35020 Padova, Italy.
Parasite. 2024;31:24. doi: 10.1051/parasite/2024026. Epub 2024 May 17.
In the last few years, the number of studies on feline hepatozoonosis has increased, but our knowledge on the actual species of Hepatozoon and/or different genotypes affecting felines is still incipient. At least three species, namely Hepatozoon felis, H. canis, and H. silvestris, have been isolated from domestic cats in various countries. Additionally, there are indications that other species and genotypes may affect felines in given geographic areas. This study was carried out to investigate the occurrence of Hepatozoon spp. in cats from Niterói, a municipality within the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Individual blood samples were collected from 28 cats enrolled in a spaying/castration program. DNA was extracted from all samples and subjected to sequencing specific for Hepatozoon spp. DNA of H. felis was found in 21/28 cats (75%), and four genetic polymorphisms never described thus far were detected. This is the first report of H. felis in cats living in the State of Rio de Janeiro, and the present data confirm that H. felis is a species complex encompassing different genotypes circulating within cat populations. Further studies are warranted to investigate whether different genotypes have different biology or pathogenicity for felids.
在过去的几年中，有关猫肝血孢子虫病的研究有所增加，但我们对实际影响猫的血孢子虫种类和/或不同基因型的了解仍处于起步阶段。至少有三种已从不同国家的家猫中分离出来，分别是犬肝血孢子虫、猫肝血孢子虫和森林犬肝血孢子虫。此外，有迹象表明，在特定地理区域，其他物种和基因型也可能影响猫。本研究旨在调查巴西里约热内卢大都市区尼泰罗伊市猫中肝血孢子虫属的流行情况。从参加绝育/去势计划的 28 只猫中采集了个体血液样本。从所有样本中提取 DNA，并进行针对肝血孢子虫属的测序。在 28 只猫中的 21 只（75%）中发现了犬肝血孢子虫 DNA，并且检测到了四种迄今尚未描述过的遗传多态性。这是首次在里约热内卢州生活的猫中报告犬肝血孢子虫，目前的数据证实犬肝血孢子虫是一个包含在猫种群中循环的不同基因型的复杂物种。有必要进一步研究不同基因型对猫科动物的生物学或致病性是否存在差异。
