Cytauxzoon europaeus infections in domestic cats in Switzerland and in European wildcats in France: a tale that started more than two decades ago

Willi, Barbara; Meli, Marina L; Cafarelli, Chiara; Gilli, Urs O; Kipar, Anja; Hubbuch, Alina; Riond, Barbara; Howard, Judith; Schaarschmidt, Daniel; Regli, Walter; Hofmann-Lehmann, Regina

doi:10.1186/s13071-021-05111-8

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Willi, B., Meli, M. L., Cafarelli, C., Gilli, U. O., Kipar, A., Hubbuch, A., Riond, B., Howard, J., Schaarschmidt, D., Regli, W., & Hofmann-Lehmann, R. (2022). Cytauxzoon europaeus infections in domestic cats in Switzerland and in European wildcats in France: a tale that started more than two decades ago. Parasites & Vectors, 15(1), 19. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-021-05111-8

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Cytauxzoon spp. infection is believed to be a newly emerging tick-borne disease in felids in Europe, with three species of the haemoparasite having recently been differentiated in wild felids. In Switzerland, rare infections have been documented in domestic cats in the west and northwest of the country, the first of which was in 2014. The aims of the present study were: (i) to characterize a Cytauxzoon spp. hotspot in domestic cats in central Switzerland; (ii) to elucidate the geographic distribution of Cytauxzoon spp. in