Philippine E-Journals

Chlamydophila felis ANTIBODIES IN STRAY DOMESTIC SHORT-HAIRED CATS (Felis catus) FROM A TERTIARY PUBLIC HOSPITAL

Frances Aubrey T. Valdez | Marco F. Reyes

 

Abstract:

Forty-two stray domestic short haired cats (Felis catus), of both sexes and various ages (four to 48 months), were captured within a tertiary public hospital in Metro Manila and used in the study. These animals had no deworming and vaccination records. Convenience sampling was done by working in a specified time frame set prior to the study. Routine physical examination was done and blood samples were collected from the animals and tested against Chlamydophila felis antibodies using a commercially available ELISA antibody test kit. The qualitative and quantitative classifications of the results were acquired through digital image scanner software that uses a TWAIN compliant scanner. Of the samples tested, one (2%) female adult cat had a titer of >1:32 and was interpreted as positive. Two (5%) were suspicious with a titer of ≤1:16 and 39/42 (93%) had no serologic evidence of exposure to Cp. felis. Spearman’s Test of Independence showed no significant correlation between the animal’s sex and age to the presence of antibodies against Cp. felis. This study shows that stray domestic short haired cats within the vicinity of a certain tertiary public hospital are exposed to Chlamydophila felis.