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Tritrichomonas foetus and Mycoplasma felis coinfection in the upper respiratory tract of a cat with chronic purulent nasal discharge
Author(s) -
Pazzini Luca,
Mugnaini Linda,
Mancianti Francesca,
Ressel Lorenzo
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
veterinary clinical pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.537
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1939-165X
pISSN - 0275-6382
DOI - 10.1111/vcp.12579
Subject(s) - tritrichomonas foetus , felis , coinfection , respiratory tract , mycoplasma hominis , mycoplasma , medicine , fetus , doxycycline , nasal cavity , pathology , biology , immunology , respiratory system , antibiotics , cats , microbiology and biotechnology , pregnancy , surgery , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , genetics
A 5‐year‐old indoor male neutered Siamese cat was presented with clinical signs of sneezing and chronic bilateral purulent nasal discharge. Multiple nasal cavity swabs were submitted for bacterial cultures, Mycoplasma felis ‐ DNA qPCR , and cytology. M felis qPCR was positive and cytomorphologic diagnosis was severe, acute, purulent, rhinitis with intralesional protozoal microorganisms consistent with a Trichomonas spp. Nested PCR ( nPCR ) confirmed the diagnosis of Tritrichomonas foetus . Systemic therapy with doxycycline for M felis and metronidazole for T foetus was started with remission of clinical signs within 2 weeks; however, symptoms relapsed shortly after therapy was discontinued. This study represents the first documented case of T foetus associated with chronic nasal discharge in a cat, which supports the hypothesis that T foetus can live in the nasal cavity. It is also the first reported case of M felis and T foetus coinfection, which indicates that with mycoplasmal feline upper respiratory tract infections, T foetus should be considered as a coinfecting agent.