Chlamydia felis is an obligate intracellular bacterial pathogen that infects cats, causing severe conjunctivitis associated with upper respiratory tract disease (URTD). In the present study, 186 cats from three non-commercial catteries in São Paulo, SP, Brazil were evaluated. The detection of C. felis was performed by PCR. The clinical severity was scored from 1 to 4, with a score of 4 as the most severe manifestation. The total occurrence of C. felis was of 18.82 per cent (35/186) of cats overall, but notably, 58.06 per cent (18/31) of infected cats originated from a single cattery. All animals harboring C. felis had URTD clinical signs and higher scores (3 and 4). In addition, C. felis occurrence was associated with the presence of cryptic plasmid. However, the virulence and clinical severity were not correlated. The study is from the Univ São Paulo, School of Veterinary Medicine, São Paulo, Brazil.
Gonsales FF, Brandão PE, Melville PA, et al. Microb Pathog 2016; May 18. pii: S0882-4010 (16) 30148-6; doi: 10.1016/j.micpath.2016.05.009