Hofmann-Lehmann
Fakultäten » Vetsuisse-Fakultät » Nutztiere, Departement für » Veterinärmedizinisches Labor » Prof. Dr. Regina Hofmann-Lehmann » Hofmann-Lehmann
Completed research project
| Title / Titel | Serological and molecular investigation of infectious agents in Brazilian captive neotropic and exotic felids | ||||||
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| Abstract (PDF, 14 KB) | |||||||
| Summary / Zusammenfassung | The Brazilian captive population of nondomestic felids is expressive, heterogeneous, highly dynamic, and widely distributed in overpopulated settings throughout the country. The health status of the felid captive populations is poorly assessed and the etiology of infectious diseases is seldom diagnosed. Within the present study, we investigated the exposure of neotropic and exotic wild felids kept in captivity in Brazil to a number of infectious pathogens, including the feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), feline herpesvirus 1 (FHV 1), feline calicivirus (FCV), feline parvovirus (FPV), feline coronavirus (FCoV), Ehrlichia canis, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Bartonella henselae, Mycoplasma haemofelis, ‘Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum’, ‘Candidatus Mycoplasma turicensis’, Cytauxzoon felis, and Theileria sp. We detected exposure to FeLV, FIV, FHV 1, FCV, FPV, FCoV, to Ehrlichia species, and Bartonella species. Molecular evidence for a Bartonella species closely related to B. koehlerae and B. henselae, for the feline hemoplasmas ‘Candidatus M. haemominutum’ and M. haemofelis, and for a C. felis isolate closely related to the isolates found for the domestic cats were also detected. The prevalences of the different infectious agents in captive felids varied significantly among different facilities and occasionally among different groups or species within the facilities. Our results suggest that the captive settings may act as amplifiers for certain pathogens, such as the FCoV. In addition, we found that also vector borne pathogens, i.e. Bartonella species, may be transmitted in the zoos | ||||||
| Keywords / Suchbegriffe | Survey, wild felids, feline viral infections, vector-borne pathogens, hemoplasmas | ||||||
| Project leadership and contacts / Projektleitung und Kontakte |
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| Funding source(s) / Unterstützt durch |
No project-specific funding |
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| In collaboration with / In Zusammenarbeit mit |
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| Duration of Project / Projektdauer | Jan 2009 to Dec 2010 |