Transmission of Cytauxzoon felis to a domestic cat by Amblyomma americanum

Cytauxzoon felis was transmitted to a domestic cat by Amblyomma americanum. The infection was produced by the bite of A. americanum adults that were acquistion fed as nymphs on a domestic cat that naturally survived infection of C. felis. Fever, inappetence, depression, and lethargy were first noted 11 days post-infestation (dpi). Pale mucus membranes, splenomegaly, icterus, and dyspnea were also observed during the course of the disease. The body temperature of the experimentally infected C. felis cat was subnormal from 16 dpi until 24 dpi when it returned to within normal limits. All clinical signs of cytauxzoonsis began to resolve by 23 dpi when the cat became subclinically infected with C. felis. The cat developed a marked, regenerative anemia beginning by 13 dpi and reached a nadir at 20 dpi before recovering. A moderate neutrophilia and marked lymphocytosis also developed between 18 and 26 dpi. Schizonts of C. felis were observed in spleen aspirates of the infected cat at 15 dpi. DNA of C. felis was amplified by real-time PCR starting 17 dpi and piroplasms of C. felis were first noted by light microscopy 18 dpi. Dermacentor variabilis, Ixodes scapularis, and Rhipicephalus sanguineus were also tested in a similar manner at the same time but did not transmit C. felis. Prior to the present study, only D. variabilis had been shown experimentally to transmit infection of C. felis. This is the first report of C. felis being transmitted by A. americanum. The transmission of C. felis infection from one domestic cat to another indicates that domestic cats subclinically infected with C. felis may be a reservoir of infection for naive domestic cats.