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Birkenheuer, A.J.; Marr, H.S.; Warren, C.; Acton, A.E.; Mucker, E.M.; Humphreys, J.G.; Tucker, M.D.
_Cytauxzoon felis_ infections are present in bobcats in a region where cytauxzoonosis is not recognized in domestic cats
2008  Veterinary Parasitology (153): 126-130

This study was performed to determine the prevalence of _Cytauxzoon felis_ (_C. felis_) infections in bobcats (_Lynx rufus_) from a region where _C. felis_ is recognized in domestic cats, North Carolina (NC), and a region where _C. felis_ is not recognized in domestic cats, Pennsylvania (PA). Samples from NC (n = 32) were obtained post-mortem via cardiac puncture from legally trapped bobcats. Samples from PA (n = 70) were collected post-mortem onto Nobuto blood collecting strips by the PA Game Commission. Each sample was tested using a _C. felis_ specific PCR assay as well as a PCR assay targeting host DNA to rule out the presence of PCR inhibitors. Three samples were excluded due to the presence of PCR inhibitors. Thirty-three percent (10/30) of the samples from NC and 7% (5/69) of the samples from PA tested positive for the presence of _C. felis_. The proportion of _C. felis_ positive bobcats from NC was significantly different than that from PA (P < 0.005). Despite the lower prevalence of _C. felis_ infections in bobcats from PA this finding is unique and indicates the potential for _C. felis_ infections in domestic cats in the northeastern USA if the appropriate tick vectors are present. Veterinary practitioners in PA should be on alert for cytauxzoonosis in domestic cats. Further studies about the epidemiology and transmission of _C. felis_ infections among both domestic cats and bobcats are needed.

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