Förekomst av agens i kattsnuvekomplexet på ett svenskt katthem

Abstract: Conjunctival swabs from 12 cats in a Swedish animal shelter were analyzed by real-time PCR for FHV-1, Mycoplasma felis and chlamydiae. The purpose of this study was to see whether and to what extent these agents can be detected and if they were detected from cats housed in quarantine or in the adoption department. Samples were first taken upon arrival at the quarantine and then a second sample was taken two weeks after moving to the adoption department, or upon presentation of signs of disease. The cats spent the quarantine period in two separate quarantines: five in a new quarantine (quarantine A) and seven in a room in the old shelter (quarantine B). The difference between these quarantines was that in B the cats were often mixed together ant the hygiene routines were not as good as in quarantine A. Of a total of 24 samples, 7 (29%) were positive for any of these agents, of these two were positive for two agents at the same time. Seven out of 12 cats (58%) were positive for FHV-1, 2 of 12 (16%) were positive for Mycoplasma felis and no samples were positive for chlamydiae. All positive cats except one had been quarantined in quarantine B. Five of the cats showed clinical signs of disease (sneezing and nose discharge + / - eye flow) at the second sampling. It is likely that the cats that were positive for FHV-1 had become infected at an earlier stage and activated a latent infection. This because six of these seven cats came from multi-cat households, three of these were not mixed with other cats and two of these were positive at the first sampling. Some of the cats were suspected of getting the infection at the shelter since they did not come from multiple cat homes, or were mixed with other cats. The cats that were positive for Mycoplasma felis were suspected of being infected at the shelter since they both were mixed with other cats. These cats also had a co-infection with FHV-1, which may have made them especially vulnerable. The study shows evidence that quarantine works satisfactorily when the cats were housed in quarantine A in the new building (only had one positive cat of five cats housed in that quarantine and of the seven positive totally). The study also shows that the shelter does not need to expand vaccination routines to also vaccinate against chlamydiae. Since the problem at this shelter lies in the presence of FHV-1 the preventive efforts should attach great importance to reduce direct contact between cats, careful hygiene and reducing stress in cats.Further studies are needed to be able to draw more conclusions on the risk of being infected depending on the background, quarantine and vaccination status of the cat.