Serological survey of Encephalitozoon cuniculi infection in cats in Japan

Ryusuke TSUKADA; Yuki OSAKA; Tomomi TAKANO; Mizuki SASAKI; Mitsuhiro INOSE; Hiromi IKADAI

doi:10.1292/jvms.15-0545

Parasitology

Serological survey of Encephalitozoon cuniculi infection in cats in Japan

Ryusuke TSUKADA, Yuki OSAKA, Tomomi TAKANO, Mizuki SASAKI, Mitsuhiro INOSE, Hiromi IKADAI

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Keywords: cat, ELISA, Encephalitozoon cuniculi, serological survey

JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

2016 Volume 78 Issue 10 Pages 1615-1617

DOI https://doi.org/10.1292/jvms.15-0545

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Abstract

Antibodies to Encephalitozoon cuniculi (E. cuniculi) were examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using E. cuniculi PTP2 recombinant protein from serum samples that had been collected from a total of 295 cats in Japan. Of these samples, 6.1% (18/295) had antibodies against E. cuniculi, which included 6.3% (6/96) of the male cats and 6.0% (12/199) of the female cats. The incidence was slightly higher in feral cats (8.3%, 11/132) compared to domesticated cats (4.3%, 7/163). This suggests the possibility that the cats of our country have become a reservoir of E. cuniculi. This study is the first to demonstrate the prevalence of E. cuniculi infection in cats in Japan.

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