Survey of Helicobacter infection in domestic and feral cats in Korea

J Vet Sci. 2009 Mar;10(1):67-72. doi: 10.4142/jvs.2009.10.1.67.

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.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cat Diseases / epidemiology*
  • Cats
  • DNA, Bacterial / genetics
  • Feces / microbiology
  • Helicobacter Infections / epidemiology
  • Helicobacter Infections / microbiology
  • Helicobacter Infections / veterinary*
  • Helicobacter felis / genetics
  • Helicobacter felis / isolation & purification
  • Helicobacter pylori / genetics
  • Helicobacter pylori / isolation & purification
  • Korea / epidemiology
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction / veterinary
  • Saliva / microbiology
  • Species Specificity

Substances

  • DNA, Bacterial