Leopardus braccatus (Carnivora: Felidae)

Barstow, Anita L.; Leslie, David M.

Diseases and parasites.-No specific diseases have been reported for Leopardus braccatus, but Toxop/asma gondii, a parasitic protozoan responsible for toxoplasmosis in humans, was reported in a captive Oncifelis (= Leopardus) cotoco in Brazil. Little is known about what role wild felids have in the natural epidemiology of T. gondii, or as a cause of felid mortality or morbidity (Silva et al. 2001) . Two captive Oncifelis (= Leopardus) cotoco in North American zoos had active feline leukemia virus, and other captive Brazilian pampas cats tested positive for the virus (Filoni et al. 2003) . Feline immunodeficiency virus and antibodies to feline coronavirus were reported in captive Brazilian felids including Oncifelis (= Leopardus) cotoco (Filoni et al. 2006) . Antibodies of Bartonella hense/ae (a proteobacterium) were found at very high prevalence in free-ranging Brazilian felids, implying the cats act as a reservoir. B. hense/ae causes cat scratch disease in humans; fleas and ticks in the genus Ixodes may serve as potential vectors for its transmission (Filoni et al. 2006) .