Molecular evidence of Anaplasma infection in naturally affected domestic cats of Pakistan.

Feline anaplasmosis is considered as an emerging tick-borne disease of zoonotic potential. The aim of current study was to investigate the molecular prevalence of anaplasmosis, associated risk factors, and alterations in hematological parameters of domestic cats from Lahore, Pakistan. Blood samples of 100 domestic cats from district Lahore were examined microscopically and the extracted genomic DNA from each sample was processed for the amplification of 16 S rRNA gene of Anaplasma. PCR confirmed isolates were purified for sequencing. The data regarding the risk factors was collected in a predesigned questionnaire and statistically analyzed by logistic regression analysis. The study found a molecular prevalence of 13% (13/100) among analyzed blood samples. The nucleotide analysis of Anaplasmataceae species sequences amplified by PCR showed high resemblance (99%) with isolates from Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, and India. The potential risk factors found to be significantly associated (p < 0.05) with disease dynamics based on the Chi-Square test were tick infestation on studied animals, previous tick history, tick control status, house hygiene, and housing type. A significant (p < 0.05) decrease in the number of platelets, erythrocytes, hemoglobin level, and pack cell volume was observed in cats suffering from anaplasmosis compared to the healthy ones. The current study is the first report of Anaplasma infection in domestic cats of Pakistan. This study will be effectual in designing the control strategies for this disease.