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Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery logoLink to Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery
. 2010 Oct 1;12(10):775–782. doi: 10.1016/j.jfms.2010.06.001

Detection of bacterial and viral organisms from the conjunctiva of cats with conjunctivitis and upper respiratory tract disease

Anja D Hartmann 1, Jennifer Hawley 2, Christiane Werckenthin 3, Michael R Lappin 4, Katrin Hartmann 5
PMCID: PMC11135519  PMID: 20817584

Abstract

A variety of pathogens are involved in conjunctivitis in cats. In this study, the prevalence of feline herpesvirus (FHV), Chlamydophila felis, mycoplasmas, and aerobic bacteria on the conjunctival surface of cats with conjunctivitis and upper respiratory tract disease was investigated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), immunofluorescent assay (IFA), and aerobic bacterial culture of ocular swabs. Forty-one cats were included of which 37 were found to be infected with an ocular organism. Single and multiple infections were present in 15 and 22 cats, respectively. FHV, mycoplasmas, and C felis were detected by PCR in 11 (27%), 20 (49%), and 23 (56%) cats, respectively. IFA detected 10 cats as positive for C felis. Mycoplasma felis, Mycoplasma canadense, Mycoplasma cynos, Mycoplasma gateae, Mycoplasma lipophilum, and Mycoplasma hyopharyngis were identified by genetic sequencing. The most common aerobic bacteria cultured included Staphylococcus species, Streptococcus species and Micrococcus species. The prevalence of mycoplasmas in cats with conjunctivitis was higher than previously reported, and four of the Mycoplasma species have not been described in cats so far.

Contributor Information

Anja D. Hartmann, Clinic of Small Animal Medicine, Ludwig Maximilian University, Veterinaerstrasse 13, 80539 Munich, Germany

Jennifer Hawley, Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.

Christiane Werckenthin, Institute for Medical Microbiology, Infectious and Epidemic Diseases, Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany.

Michael R. Lappin, Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA

Katrin Hartmann, Clinic of Small Animal Medicine, Ludwig Maximilian University, Veterinaerstrasse 13, 80539 Munich, Germany  hartmann@uni-muenchen.de.

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