2016 ACVIM Forum Research Abstract Program

The results from this sample population suggest cats in Moscow are exposed to intermediate hosts or undercooked meat (T. gondii), fleas (Bartonella spp. and hemoplasmas), and come in direct contact with infected cats (hemoplasmas, FeLV and FIV). These infectious agents should be on appropriate clinical differential lists, processed foods should be fed, ectoparasite control should be maintained, and feline-feline contact should be avoided when possible. Coxiella burnetii is a rickettsial pathogen with serious zoonotic implications (Q fever) transmitted by direct contact and vectored by numerous tick species. Cats infected C. burnetii have been implicated in human infections in Australia and the United States but minimal information exists concerning routes of feline infection. Recently, C. burnetii DNA was isolated from Ctenocephalides felis collected from wildlife in Cyprus; this flea commonly infests cats. The purpose of this study was to evaluate select groups of fleas from cats in the Australia and United States for the presence of C. burnetii DNA using a previously optimized PCR assay.