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Krengel, A.; Meli, M.L.; Cattori, V.; Wachter, B.; Willi, B.; Thalwitzer, S.; Melzheimer, J.; Hofer, H.; Lutz, H.; Hofmann-Lehmann, R.
First evidence of hemoplasma infection in free-ranging Namibian cheetahs (_Acinonyx jubatus_)
2013 Veterinary Microbiology (162): 972-976
Infections with feline hemotropic mycoplasmas (hemoplasmas) have been documented in domestic cats and free-ranging feline species with high prevalences in Iberian lynxes (_Lynx pardinus_), Eurasian lynxes (_Lynx lynx_), European wildcats (_Felis silvestris silvestris_), African lions (_Panthera leo_) in Tanzania and domestic cats in South Africa. The prevalence of hemoplasmas has not yet been investigated in free-ranging felids in southern Africa. In this study we screened 73 blood samples from 61 cheetahs in central Namibia for the presence of hemoplasmas using quantitative real-time PCR. One of the cheetahs tested PCR-positive. Phylogenetic analysis based on partial sequencing of the 16S rRNA and RNAse P genes revealed that the isolate belongs to the _Mycoplasma haemofelis/ haemocanis_ group. This is the first molecular evidence of a hemoplasma infection in a free-ranging cheetah.
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