DETECTION OF Chlamydophila felis ANTIBODIES IN Felis catus and Panthera tigris AT A WILDLIFE FACILITY USING ELISA

Abstract

Thirty domestic short haired cats (Felis catus) and nine tigers (Panthera tigris) of both sexes and various ages, living within the vicinity of a wildlife facility were used in the study. These animals were apparently healthy at the time of the study. Only the tigers were vaccinated against Rabies, Feline Panleukopenia, Calicivirus and Herpesvirus and dewormed with ivermectin. The blood sera of these animals were tested for Chlamydophila felis antibodies using an ELISA test kit. Six of the 39 (15%) animals tested had serologic evidence of exposure to Cp. felis. Three of the 30 (10%) domestic short haired cats and three out of the nine tigers (33%) tested positive. Adults (83%) were found to be more prone to exposure than juveniles (17%). Both male and female have equal predisposition to exposure to Cp. felis. The study shows that adult felids were more prone to the infection than young felids, regardless of sex.