• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.357-361
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• 2013

Several epidemiological surveys have reported the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in stray cats in Korea, but little information is available on T. gondii infection in household cats. The aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence and risk factors of T. gondii infection among household cats reared in Seoul, Korea. A total of 474 blood samples were collected from clinically healthy household cats. All samples were tested using ELISA and PCR. The risk factor analysis was based on a questionnaire filled out by the owners. The overall positive rate for ELISA and PCR assays was 2.2% (10/437) and 2.1% (10/474), respectively. With regard to the origin of cats, the positive rates among cats adopted from the animal shelter and veterinary clinic for stray cats were significantly different (P<0.05). Our study demonstrated that the positive rate of T. gondii infection in household cats was low and that this low prevalence was assumed to be associated with keeping the cats indoors and restriction of eating raw food and uncooked meat. Therefore, we suggest that the owners check the origin of the cats prior to adoption to prevent infection of other animals, including humans.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.333-338
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• 2013

We investigated the prevalence of feline panleukopenia virus (FPV) in stray and household cats in different regions of Seoul, Republic of Korea. Blood samples were collected from a total of 200 cats (100 stray cats and 100 household cats) and examined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The overall prevalence of FPV was 2%. Among test-positive cats, 3% (3/100) were stray cats and 1% (1/100) was a household cat. The incidence of FPV was higher in juvenile cats (< 1 year, 1.5%) than in adult cats (> 1-year-old, 0.5%). The FPV-positive rates of healthy infected cats and sick cats were 1.9% (3/156) and 2.2% (1/44), respectively. We found the positive rate of vaccinated and unvaccinated cats to be 1.3% (1/77) and 2.4% (3/123), respectively. Unlike antibody tests, FPV antigen tests detected current infections in stray and household cats. Therefore, these tests can help in disease diagnosis and treatment. To our knowledge, our study is the first to survey the prevalence of FPV in different cat populations across Seoul. We found a high prevalence of FPV infection in stray and juvenile cats. Therefore, proper vaccination and surveillance are important to prevent FPV outbreaks.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.267-270
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• 2010

The principal objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of toxoplasmosis in household and stray cats in Seoul, Republic of Korea. We collected blood samples from 72 stray and 80 household cats, and all samples were examined by ELISA and nested peR. The overall positive rates of Toxoplasma gondii in stray cats were 38.9% (28/72), with 15.3% (11/72) in ELISA and 30.6% (22/72) in peR. The positive rate in male stray cats was Slightly higher than that of female stray cats. The highest positive rate of T. gondii infection was noted in Gangnam and Songpa populations in ELISA and in Gwangjin population in PCR. In household cats, however, we could not detect any specific antibodies or DNA for T. gondii. In conclusion, we recognized that the infection rate of toxoplasmosis in stray cats in Seoul was considerably high but household cats were free from infection.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.370-375
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• 1999

Owner's attitudes for tendonectomy, the advantages of this surgical technique, and postoperative complication were investigated by telephone survey. 18 cats on whom tendoncetomy was performed with or without concurrent ovario-hysterectomy or castration were included in this study. The first reason for tendonectomy was to avoid damage caused by the cat's scratching household materials. The first benefit of tendonectomy was decreasing damage to materials (89%). The primary concern of the owners of cats that underwent tendonectomy was postoperative pain after surgery (61%). Twelve cats (67%) that underwent tendonectomy recovered fully within the first three days and 6 cats (33%) recovered within two weeks. After combining the very positive rating and positive as positive, seventeen owners (94%) of cats that underwent tendonectomy had a positive attitude to the surgery.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.207-212
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• 2011

Rapid serodiagnostic methods for Toxoplasma gondii infection in cats are urgently needed for effective control of transmission routes toward human infections. In this work, 4 recombinant T. gondii antigens (SAG1, SAG2, GRA3, and GRA6) were produced and tested for the development of rapid diagnostic test (RDT). The proteins were expressed in Escherichia coli, affinity-purified, and applied onto the nitrocellulose membrane of the test strip. The recombinant SAG1 (rSAG1) showed the strongest antigenic activity and highest specificity among them. We also performed clinical evaluation of the rSAG1-loaded RDT in 182 cat sera (55 household and 127 stray cats). The kit showed 0.88 of kappa value comparing with a commercialized ELISA kit, which indicated a significant correlation between rSAG1-loaded RDT and the ELISA kit. The overall sensitivity and specificity of the RDT were 100% (23/23) and 99.4% (158/159), respectively. The rSAG1-loaded RDT is rapid, easy to use, and highly accurate. Thus, it would be a suitable diagnostic tool for rapid detection of antibodies in T. gondii-infected cats under field conditions.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.335-338
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• 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic, triggered by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has not only impacted human health on a global scale but also raised concerns about the vulnerability of a wide array of animals that are in close contact with humans. Particularly, the potential for infection and the subsequent immune response in domestic pets such as dogs and cats remain largely unexplored under natural living conditions. In this study, we have undertaken the task of detecting and tracking the presence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in a small cohort of household pets-specifically, two dogs and two cats. Employing techniques such as the indirect ELISA and plaque reduction neutralization tests, we observed that the neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in these animals were maintained for a duration of up to six months following their initial positive test result. This duration mirrors the antibody response documented in human cases of COVID-19, suggesting a comparable post-infection immune response timeline between humans and these domestic animals.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.247-251
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• 2010

Feline intestinal tritrichomoniasis by Tritrichomonas foetus was first recognized in USA in 1999 and has so far been reported from UK, Norway, Switzerland, and Australia, but not from the Far East Asian countries. In November 2008, 2 female and male littermate Siamese cats, 6-month old, raised in a household in Korea were referred from a local veterinary clinic with a history of chronic persistent diarrhea. A direct smear examination of fecal specimens revealed numerous trichomonad trophozoites which were isolated by the fecal culture in $InPouch^{TM}$ TF-Feline medium. A PCR testing of the isolate based on the amplification of a conserved portion of the T. foetus internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions (ITS1 and ITS2) and the 5.8S rRNA gene, and the molecular sequencing of the PCR amplicons confirmed infection with T. foetus. This is the first clinical case of feline intestinal trichomoniasis caused by T. foetus in Korea.