Passive immunization does not provide protection against experimental infection with Mycoplasma haemofelis

Sugiarto, Sarah; Spiri, Andrea M.; Riond, Barbara; Novacco, Marilisa; Oestmann, Angelina; de Miranda, Luisa H. Monteiro; Meli, Marina L.; Boretti, Felicitas S.; Hofmann-Lehmann, Regina; Willi, Barbara

Hematological parameters were determined on day 0, twice weekly pi until week 7 and weekly thereafter up to day 100 pi on a Sysmex XT-2000iV instrument (Sysmex Corporation, Kobe, Japan), as previously described [32] . White blood cell differential analysis was confirmed using manual evaluation of Wright-Giemsa stained blood smears. Severity of anemia was defined as mild (25-33%), moderate (15-25%) and severe (<15%). Bilirubin, total protein and albumin concentrations were measured on day 0, on days 3 and 7 pi and weekly thereafter until day 100 pi using a Cobas Integra 800 system (Roche Diagnostics, Rotkreuz, Switzerland). Globulin values were calculated by subtracting the albumin value from the total protein concentration. Reference intervals (mean ± standard deviation, SD) for PCV and total protein concentrations for kittens of 16 and 30 weeks of age were obtained from the literature [33] . Because bilirubin concentrations reach adult values after 1 week of age [33] , the laboratory's device-specific reference interval was used for this parameter.