Effect of chronic feline immunodeficiency infection, and efficacy of marbofloxacin treatment, on ‘ Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum’ infection

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of chronic feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infection, and efficacy of marbofloxacin treatment, on ‘ Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum’ infection. Six cats chronically infected with FIV-Glasgow8 (group A) and six FIV-free cats (group B) were infected with ‘ Candidatus M. haemominutum’ on day 0 by intravenous inoculation of blood. From day 0 to 105 post-infection (pi), blood samples were collected for ‘ Candidatus M. haemominutum’ and FIV provirus quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and haematological examination. Three of the six cats in each of the groups were randomly selected to receive marbofloxacin treatment (2 mg/kg PO SID) from day 49 to day 76 pi, with the remaining cats being untreated controls. Maximum ‘ Candidatus M. haemominutum’ copy number was reached around day 30 pi. No overt cycling or marked variation in copy number was observed. No significant effect of FIV infection on ‘ Candidatus M. haemominutum’ copy number kinetics or anaemia indices was found. No correlation was found between FIV provirus copy number and ‘ Candidatus M. haemominutum’ copy number or haematological variables. Although marbofloxacin treatment was associated with a significant decrease in ‘ Candidatus M. haemominutum’ copy number, the copy number plateaued during treatment, with no negative PCR results. Additionally, after termination of marbofloxacin treatment the copy numbers of the treated cats increased to reach levels similar to those of the untreated cats within 7–10 days. This study documents, for the first time, the infection kinetics and antibiotic responsiveness of ‘ Candidatus M. haemominutum’ infection.