Prevalence of Chlamydophila felis and feline herpesvirus 1 in cats with conjunctivitis in northern Italy.
The prevalence of Chlamydophila felis and feline herpesvirus 1 (FHV-1) infection in cats with conjunctivitis in northern Italy was investigated by conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing. In cats with conjunctivitis, C felis and FHV-1 were detected in 14 of 70 (20%) and in 23 of 70 (33%) animals, respectively. None of the 35 control cats were positive for C felis, whereas 7 (20%) of these cats were positive for FHV-1. Mixed infections were present in 5 of 70 cats (7%). Cats positive for C felis were significantly younger than control animals (P = .02), whereas no significant age differences were observed between FHV-1-positive cats and control cats (P = .41) or between FHV-1-positive animals and C felis-positive animals (P = .16). Cats sampled during acute-phase conjunctivitis were also investigated for the presence of C felis by conjunctival scrapings. In this acute phase, substantial agreement was found when comparing the results of the 2 methods (K = .80). The association between PCR results and conjunctivitis was evaluated for the 2 pathogens. The presence of C felis was significantly associated with conjunctivitis (P = .004), whereas the detection of FHV-1 did not significantly correlate with the clinical sign (P = .25), suggesting that, by itself. PCR is not suitable for the diagnosis of FHV-1-related conjunctivitis.
Rampazzo
A
A
College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Torino, 10095 Grugliasco, Italy. rampella@tiscali.it
Appino
S
S
Pregel
P
P
Tarducci
A
A
Zini
E
E
Biolatti
B
B
D000818:Animals; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D002415:Cats; D023501:Chlamydophila / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D023521:Chlamydophila Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D003228:Conjunctiva / Q000382:microbiology / Q000821:virology; D003231:Conjunctivitis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D006564:Herpesviridae / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004279:DNA, Viral