Serological survey of Encephalitozoon cuniculi infection in cats in Japan

• Published in: Journal of Veterinary Medical Science Vol. 78; no. 10; pp. 1615 - 1617
• Main Authors: TSUKADA, Ryusuke, OSAKA, Yuki, TAKANO, Tomomi, SASAKI, Mizuki, INOSE, Mitsuhiro, IKADAI, Hiromi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan JAPANESE SOCIETY OF VETERINARY SCIENCE 2016; Japan Science and Technology Agency; The Japanese Society of Veterinary Science
• Subjects: Animals; Antibodies; Antibodies, Fungal - blood; cat; Cat Diseases - epidemiology; Cat Diseases - microbiology; Cats; Disease Reservoirs - veterinary; ELISA; Encephalitozoon cuniculi; Encephalitozoonosis - epidemiology; Encephalitozoonosis - veterinary; Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay - veterinary; Female; Feral populations; Incidence; Infections; Japan - epidemiology; Male; Parasitology; Seroepidemiologic Studies; serological survey
• ISSN: 0916-7250; 1347-7439
• DOI: 10.1292/jvms.15-0545

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.