1. Prevalence of Leishmania infantum and co-infections in stray cats in northern Italy.
- Author
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Spada, Eva, Canzi, Ilaria, Baggiani, Luciana, Perego, Roberta, Vitale, Fabrizio, Migliazzo, Antonella, and Proverbio, Daniela
- Subjects
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LEISHMANIA infantum , *MIXED infections , *CAT diseases , *DISEASE prevalence - Abstract
Stray cats in the city of Milan, Italy, were tested for Leishmania infantum and other selected infections. Twenty-seven cats (30.0%) were seroreactive by indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT), with an antibody titer of 1:40 for 16 (17.7%) cats and 1:80 (cut-off for feline L. infantum infection) for 11 (12.2%) cats. One blood (1.1%) and one popliteal lymph node (1.1%) sample tested positive by real-time polymerase chain reaction; no oculoconjunctival swabs tested positive. Feline immunodeficiency virus, feline leukemia virus, and feline coronavirus (FCoV) seroprevalence determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was 6.1, 6.1, and 39.0%, respectively. Toxoplasma gondii , Bartonella henselae , and Chlamydophila felis prevalence determined by IFAT was 29.3, 17.1, and 17.1%, respectively. The frequency of seroreactivity to L. infantum was significantly higher in FCoV-seropositive cats (OR = 4.4, P = 0.04). L. infantum -infected stray cats in Milan have a high seropositivity rate, comparable to that of cats in areas endemic for leishmaniosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2016
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