Micoplasmas hemotrópicos em felinos domésticos na cidade de Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil

Abstract

Feline infectious anemia is a disease caused by bacteria belonging to the genus Mycoplasma, comprising a different group since they are found attached to the surface of erythrocytes, however, are unable to break the cell membrane. They are known as hemoplasmas or mycoplasma Hemotrophic. Mycoplasma haemofelis, Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum and Candidatus Mycoplasma turicensis , are species capable of infecting domestic cats. Infection by hemoplasmas is present in almost all continents except Antarctica. The disease can vary from asymptomatic to severe and fatal form, depending upon the species involved and host susceptibility. The main tool for diagnosing the infection is by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), highly sensitive and specific method. The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of infection hemoplasmas cats in the city of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and also analyze the hematological parameters of positive animals, as well as sex and age. Thus, it analyzed 192 blood samples from domestic cats from the Laboratory of Analyzes Clinics Veterinaries at Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (LACVet-UFSM). CBC, DNA extraction and PCR for the three species hemoplasmas above were performed, and the analysis of the medical history, age and sex. The overall frequency of Hemotrophic mycoplasmas found was 14.6%, and, 7.83% were positive for Candidatus M. haemominutum , 4.17% for Mycoplasma haemofelis, 1.56% for Candidatus M. turicensis , 0.52% for Candidatus M. haemominutum and Mycoplasma haemofelis and 0.52% for Candidatus M. turicensis and Candidatus M. haemominutum . The sex 10.95% of infected samples were males, while 3.65% were females. The animals up to four years of age were most affected by the infection than older cats and only 3 animals had anemia, there were no changes in white blood cell count of positive animals. Thus, it observed that the infection caused by these organisms is present in the city of Santa Maria and the Candidatus M. haemominutum is the most common species associated with infection, in addition, males and young cats are most affected.