Pet cats as carriers of Arcobacter spp. in Southern Italy

• Published in: Journal of applied microbiology Vol. 106; no. 5; pp. 1661 - 1666
• Main Authors: Fera, M.T., La Camera, E., Carbone, M., Malara, D., Pennisi, M.G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.05.2009; Blackwell
• Subjects: Animals; Animals, Domestic; Arcobacter; Arcobacter - genetics; Arcobacter - isolation & purification; Arcobacter butzleri; Arcobacter cryaerophilus; Arcobacter spp; Bacteremia - microbiology; Biological and medical sciences; blood; Carrier State - epidemiology; Carrier State - microbiology; Carrier State - transmission; Cat Diseases - epidemiology; Cat Diseases - microbiology; Cat Diseases - transmission; Cats; DNA, Bacterial - chemistry; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections - epidemiology; Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections - microbiology; Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections - transmission; Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections - veterinary; Italy - epidemiology; lymph node; Lymph Nodes - microbiology; Lymph Nodes - pathology; Male; Microbiology; Mouth - microbiology; oral swab; PCR; pet cats; Polymerase Chain Reaction - veterinary; Prevalence; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Species Specificity; Italy; Europe; Fissipedia; Carnivora; pet cats; Lymph node; Applied microbiology; Arcobacter spp; oral swab; Blood; Polymerase chain reaction; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Cat; PCR
• ISSN: 1364-5072; 1365-2672
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2672.2008.04133.x

Aims:  To evaluate the presence of Arcobacter spp. in different biological samples from domestic cats in Southern Italy by using a species‐specific PCR assay and thus to elucidate their potential significance as sources of human infection. Methods and Results:  We investigated the prevalence of Arcobacter DNA in oral swabs, in peripheral blood samples and fine needle lymph node aspirate specimens from 85 cats of which 17 were clinically healthy and 68 had clinical signs of oral disease or lymphadenomegaly. Overall, molecular analysis has shown that Arcobacter‐specific DNA was found in 78·8% (67 of 85) of all the cats. In the 67 Arcobacter‐positive cats, 66 (77·6%) and 29 (34·1%) were found positive for Arcobacter butzleri and Arcobacter cryaerophilus, respectively. None of the examined samples gave a PCR product for Arcobacter skirrowii. Conclusions:  This study demonstrates that pet cats commonly carry Arcobacter in the oral cavity. According to the clinical data, the Arcobacter detection results showed no significant difference between cats with oral pathology and those suffering from other different pathologies. Significance and Impact of the Study:  Pet cats harbour Arcobacter spp. and may play a role in their dissemination in the domestic habitat. The high prevalence in a limited number of cat samples in this study may be of significance.