Amoebic infections in cats with ocular disease
von Bomhard, W.; Pospischil, A.; Richter, M.; Kaps, S.; Polkinghorne, A.; Zimmermann, D.R.
Veterinary Record 150(17): 556
2002
ISSN/ISBN: 0042-4900 PMID: 12019546 Document Number: 550972
The discovery of amoebic DNA in swab samples from cats with ocular disease was described. DNA extracts from swabs collected from 50 cats with ocular disease were screened for chlamydial DNA. Only 2 (4%) were positive for Chlamydophila felis. Direct sequencing of the other 16 samples revealed sequences with 99% identity to Neochlamydia hartmannellae, an obligate symbiont of the amoeba Hartmannella vermiformis. Samples from 10 specific pathogen-free (SPF) cats and 21 cats without ocular disease were screened to investigate the association of N. hartmannellae-like chlamydial isolates with the speculated host amoeba. Of the 21 cats, 4 were solely positive for the N. hartmannellae-like isolates, whereas 2 were positive for Hartmannella species. Findings provide evidence that free living amoebae actively colonize the environment surrounding the eye, and raise questions over their role in the causation or exacerbation of ocular disease in cats.