Prevalence of Cytauxzoon felis in ticks from South-central Kansas and Northwest Arkansas

Abstract

Cytauxzoon felis is a protozoan that causes an often-fatal illness in felines known as cytauxzoonosis, or bobcat fever. Ticks are vectors of this pathogen, with Amblyomma americanum being the most common vector. Previous studies have noted a correlation between peak tick season and peak cytauxzoonosis diagnosis. For cytauxzoonosis, minimal treatments exist, and scientists have not found a cure, which is why focus needs to be on preventing disease. Knowledge on the prevalence of C. felis in different tick species helps veterinarians and pet owners be aware of the potential for their cat developing cytauxzoonosis if one or more ticks are found feeding on the animal. To assess the prevalence of C. felis in vectors, we collected ticks from cats and the environment in the South-central Kansas area in 2023 and Northwest Arkansas area in 2024. All ticks were collected through dragging or directly from animals. We used a qPCR assay targeting the cox3 mitochondrial gene to detect the presence of C. felis DNA in the ticks. In total, 658 ticks were tested. 20/351 ticks collected from cats tested positive for C. felis, and 2/307 ticks collected from the environment also tested positive. Of the 22 positives, 21 ticks were Amblyomma americanum and one was Dermacentor variabilis. The prevalence of C. felis in A. americium suggests that this is the most common vector in both states. For environmental collections, differences between states were significant (P\u3c 0.001). For clinic collections, there were no significant differences in the mean number of A. americanum collected between the number of ticks collected per state except when comparing May and July (P=0.0333). Cat owners should consider tick preventives at least during peak vector activity season