Rickettsial Organisms in Cats in the West Indies
a href="http://www.cdc.gov/eid/content/16/3/570.htm"Kelly PJ, Lucas H, Eremeeva ME, Dirks KG, Rolain JM, Yowell C, Thomas R, Douglas T, Dasch GA, Raoult D. Rickettsia felis, West Indies. Emerg Infect Dis. 2010 Mar;16(3):570-1. br / /abr / A study examining levels of antibody to the spotted fever group of Rickettsial organisms in feral cats from a spay/neuter program on St. Kitts found that most (45/68) were seropositive for this group of bacteria. These bacteria are transmitted by ticks, and have been associated with disease in some animals. Interestingly, no ticks were found on any of the cats, but they were infested with fleas. Fleas are known to be the vector for one rickettsial organism, iRickettsia felis/i. This bacterium is not harmful to cats, but can cause spotted fever in humans. These investigators also looked for the organism itself in cat fleas, and found the organism in about 20% of the fleas they tested. This was the first identification of this organism in the Caribbean, and indicates cats may be sentinels for its presence in a particular locale. [MK]br / br / bRelated articles:/bbr / a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17276123"Hawley JR, Shaw SE, Lappin MR: Prevalence of Rickettsia felis DNA in the blood of cats and their fleas in the United States, J Feline Med Surg 9:258, 2007./abr / br / a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18786845"Bayliss DB, Morris AK, Horta MC et al: Prevalence of Rickettsia species antibodies and Rickettsia species DNA in the blood of cats with and without fever, J Feline Med Surg 11:266, 2009./abr / br / More on cat health: a href="http://www.winnfelinehealth.org/Health.html"Winn Feline Foundation Library/abr / a href="http://www.facebook.com/WinnFelineFoundation"Join us on Facebook/abr / a href="http://www.twitter.com/WinnFeline"Follow us on Twitter/adiv class="blogger-post-footer"Providing expert cat health information and supporting cat health research since 1968.img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1170470470666539402-3149227594814209501?l=winnfelinehealth.blogspot.com' alt='' //divdiv class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CatHealthNewsFromTheWinnFelineFoundation?a=nf_3hyHHyqI:DLIhnzVlV9A:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CatHealthNewsFromTheWinnFelineFoundation?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CatHealthNewsFromTheWinnFelineFoundation?a=nf_3hyHHyqI:DLIhnzVlV9A:UT3xtbGYFzA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CatHealthNewsFromTheWinnFelineFoundation?d=UT3xtbGYFzA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CatHealthNewsFromTheWinnFelineFoundation?a=nf_3hyHHyqI:DLIhnzVlV9A:qj6IDK7rITs"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CatHealthNewsFromTheWinnFelineFoundation?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CatHealthNewsFromTheWinnFelineFoundation?a=nf_3hyHHyqI:DLIhnzVlV9A:F7zBnMyn0Lo"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CatHealthNewsFromTheWinnFelineFoundation?i=nf_3hyHHyqI:DLIhnzVlV9A:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CatHealthNewsFromTheWinnFelineFoundation?a=nf_3hyHHyqI:DLIhnzVlV9A:V_sGLiPBpWU"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CatHealthNewsFromTheWinnFelineFoundation?i=nf_3hyHHyqI:DLIhnzVlV9A:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CatHealthNewsFromTheWinnFelineFoundation?a=nf_3hyHHyqI:DLIhnzVlV9A:oCFASsrFxfc"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CatHealthNewsFromTheWinnFelineFoundation?d=oCFASsrFxfc" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CatHealthNewsFromTheWinnFelineFoundation/~4/nf_3hyHHyqI" height="1" width="1"/Feline Calicivirus and Fleas
Mencke, N., M. Vobis, et al. (2009). "Transmission of feline calicivirus via the cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis)." Parasitol Res 105(1): 185-9.Feline calicivirus is an important and contagious pathogen of cats. It is often associated with respiratory disease that is most commonly mild and self-limiting. However, it may cause severe pneumonia, or rarely, a systemic lethal disease. Transmission occurs most commonly through direct and indirect contact between cats. This investigation examined the potential for fleas to spread the virus. Fleas were fed blood containing the virus, and their feces were collected. Infectious virus was found in the flea feces for more than a week after exposure, and the virus could be transmitted to susceptible kittens via the fleas. Thus fleas could be a potential source for spread of this virus. However, the level of virus artificially fed to the fleas in this experiment was very high. In addition, while inoculation of infected fleas via the nose and mouth in the kittens was effective in transmission, infestation of the kittens alone with the fleas was not efficient for virus transmission. The researchers conclude that fleas could potentially be a source for transmission of feline calicivirus and note that it emphasizes the importance of good flea control. However, spread by respiratory droplets and direct contact remains the most important modes of spread. Transmission via fleas would most likely be significant in situations of crowding and significant flea infestation. [MK]
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Related articles:
Radford, A. D., D. Addie, et al. (2009). "Feline calicivirus infection ABCD guidelines on prevention and management." J Feline Med Surg 11(7): 556-64.
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Hurley, K., P. Pesavento, et al. (2004). "An outbreak of virulent systemic feline calicivirus disease." J Amer Vet Med Assoc 224(2): 241-249.
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Flea Control for Cats: Frontline Plus versus Promeris
August 4th, 2008 | Comments Off | Posted in Frontline Plus, ProMeris, fipronil, fleas, metaflumizone
Franc, M. and F. Beugnet (2008). "A comparative evaluation of the speed of kill and duration of efficacy against weekly infestations with fleas on cats treated with fipronil-(S)-methoprene or metaflumizone." Vet Ther 9(2): 102-10.The cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis, is found world-wide on many species of mammals including cats. Only the adult life stage of the flea resides on the cat while all other stages exist in the environment. On-animal flea control products may take different approaches, such as ensuring no fleas survive long enough to reproduce or disrupting the viability of flea eggs. Metaflumizone (Promeris, Fort Dodge Animal Health) was recently introduced for flea control use on cats as a topical spot-on. This study, funded by Merial, was designed to compare the speed of kill and duration of flea kill of commercially available formulations of Promeris and fipronil–(S)-methoprene (Frontline Plus, Merial) in cats in order to determine which active ingredient would be best suited to eliminate fleas before they produce eggs. Speed of kill efficacies were assessed against existing infestations and against infestations at day 7. Efficacy was also assessed 24 and 48 hours after weekly flea infestations through day 42. Cats treated with Frontline Plus had significantly fewer fleas than those treated with Promeris at 12 and 18 hours after treatment and on the day 7 infestations. Frontline Plus-treated cats also had significantly fewer fleas than Promeris-treated cats for all 24-hour counts from initial treatment on day 0 through infestation day 42.
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Holzmer, S., J. A. Hair, et al. (2007). "Efficacy of a novel formulation of metaflumizone for the control of fleas (Ctenocephalides felis) on cats." Vet Parasitol 150(3): 219-24.
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Feline Permethrin Spot-On Toxicity
Sutton, N. M., N. Bates, et al. (2007). "Clinical effects and outcome of feline permethrin spot-on poisonings reported to the Veterinary Poisons Information Service (VPIS), London." J Feline Med Surg 9(4): 335-9.Permethrin is a pyrethroid insecticide used in topically applied spot-on flea treatments for dogs. Cats are very sensitive to the toxic effects of permethrin. These products are readily available and are often less expensive than other flea control products. Cats may be affected when the product is applied directly to them, or through contact with a treated animal. Data from 286 cases of permethrin toxicity in cats from the Veterinary Poisons Information Service in the United Kingdom is reviewed. The majority of the cats (96.9%) experienced clinical signs of toxicosis. The most common clinical signs were twitching, tremors, muscle fasciculations, and seizures. The duration of clinical signs was long, with seizures lasting an average of 38 hours and tremors lasting an average of 32 hours. Some cats took up to 1 week to recover. Death occurred in 10.5% of cases, some of which were euthanized due to reasons such as respiratory failure, or uncontrollable seizures. It is very important for cat owners to avoid using spot-on flea products containing permethrin on cats, and cats should not have contact with other animals treated with these products.
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Linnett, P. J. (2008). "Permethrin toxicosis in cats." Aust Vet J 86(1-2): 32-5.
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Cat Scratch Disease: A Review
April 29th, 2008 | Comments Off | Posted in B. henselae, Bartonella, bartonellosis, cat scratch disease, fleas
Breitschwerdt, E. B. (2008). "Feline bartonellosis and cat scratch disease." Vet Immunol Immunopathol 123(1-2): 167-71.Cat scratch disease (bartonellosis) is caused by various species of Bartonella, intracellular bacteria that favour red blood cells. Cats can be infected with five Bartonella species, including B. henselae and B. clarridgeae. Humans and many domestic animals, such as cattle and dogs, can also serve as chronically infected reservoir hosts for Bartonella. Many arthropod vectors, such as biting flies, fleas and ticks have been implicated in transmission of Bartonella to animals and humans. Bartonella infection can cause various problems in humans, including endocarditis, granulomatous inflammation of lymph nodes, and central nervous system dysfunction. Bartonellosis can be diagnosed in cats with serology, PCR, and culture. However, the issue is clouded by the high rate of sub-clinical infections in cats, making it very difficult to confirm bartonellosis as the cause of illness in cats. Fleas are involved in transmission from cat to cat, so the use of flea control products is critically important to decrease the risk of transmission of Bartonella among cats and to humans.
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Related articles:
Chomel, B. B., H. J. Boulouis, et al. (2006). "Bartonella spp. in pets and effect on human health." Emerg Infect Dis 12(3): 389-94.
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