Prevalence and risk factors for hemoplasmas in domestic cats naturally infected with feline immunodeficiency virus and/or feline leukemia virus in Rio de Janeiro - Brazil

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and risk factors for Mycoplasma haemofelis (Mhf) and 'Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum' (Mhm) infections in domestic cats tested for feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline leukemia virus (FeLV) with a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. Based on serological testing, cats were grouped as i) FIV-positive (n = 25); ii) FeLV-positive (n = 39); iii) FIV/FeLV-positive (n = 8); and iv) FIV/FeLV-negative (n = 77). Complete blood counts were followed by DNA extraction, species-specific polymerase chain reaction (16S rRNA gene) for Mhf and Mhm and Southern blotting for all animals. Mhf DNA was found in 4.0, 2.6, 12.5 and 7.8% of the cats from groups i, ii, iii and iv, respectively, while 32, 5.1, 50 and 5.2% of these animals had an Mhm infection. Cats with FIV (OR = 4.25, P = 0.009) and both FIV and FeLV (OR = 7.56, P = 0.014) were at greater risk of being hemoplasma infected than retroviral-negative cats, mainly due to Mhm infection (OR = 8.59, P = 0.001 and OR = 18.25, P = 0.001, respectively). Among pure-breed cats, FIV-positive status was associated with hemoplasma infection (OR 45.0, P = 0.001).