Survey of Helicobacter infection in domestic and feral cats in Korea.
- Author:
Heh Myung GHIL
1
;
Jong Hyeon YOO
;
Woo Sung JUNG
;
Tae Ho CHUNG
;
Hwa Young YOUN
;
Cheol Yong HWANG
Author Information
- Publication Type:Original Article ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
- Keywords: cat; Helicobacter; prevalence; zoonosis
- MeSH: Animals; Cat Diseases/*epidemiology; Cats; DNA, Bacterial/genetics; Feces/microbiology; Helicobacter Infections/epidemiology/microbiology/*veterinary; Helicobacter felis/genetics/isolation & purification; Helicobacter pylori/genetics/isolation & purification; Korea/epidemiology; Polymerase Chain Reaction/veterinary; Saliva/microbiology; Species Specificity
- From:Journal of Veterinary Science 2009;10(1):67-72
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: Discovery of Helicobacter (H.) pylori has led to a fundamental change in our understanding of gastric diseases in humans. Previous studies have found various Helicobacter spp. in dogs and cats, and pets have been questioned as a zoonotic carrier. The present study surveyed the Helicobacter infections and investigated the presence of H. felis and H. pylori infections in domestic and feral cats in Korea. Sixty-four domestic cats and 101 feral cats were selected from an animal shelter. Saliva and feces were evaluated by Helicobacter genus-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Genus-specific PCR positive samples were further evaluated for H. felis and H. pylori using specific primer pairs. Thirty-six of 64 (56.3%) samples from domestic cats and 92 of 101 (91.1%) samples from feral cats were PCR positive; the positive rate of feces samples was higher than that of saliva samples in both groups. H. felis and H. pylori species-specific PCR was uniformly negative. The prevalence of Helicobacter spp. in feral cats was approximately two-fold higher than that of domestic cats. The fecal-oral route may be more a common transmission route not only between cats but also in humans.
