Molecular Survey on Tritrichomonas foetus infection in cats of Southwestern Iran

Trichomoniosis is caused by the obligatory parasite, Tritrichomonas foetus in cats. This protozoan causes some gastrointestinal symptoms such as colitis, semi-formed to liquid diarrhea, and sometimes fresh bloody or mucoid feces, bloating, and bowel incontinence in the infected cats. The present study aimed to diagnose the Tritrichomonas foetus in cats in Ahvaz city by direct smear and culture methods in the Dorset medium. After observation of motile trichomonads, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a diagnostic technique carried out to confirm the organism. In the present study, fecal sampling was taken from 100 cats directly using swap. In wet smear, the motile flagellates that were similar in size to T. foetus by rolling motion’ were identified. Positive samples were cultured in the Dorset medium. A portion of the culture medium was used for extracting genomic DNA followed by nested-PCR assay with two pair primers. The molecular findings showed that 18% of the cats (positive cases) were infected with Tritrichomonas foetus. The cats with diarrhetic history had the most infection rate with 83/3% and 66/66%, respectively. Also, the rate of infection in cats less than one year was 14% and more than the cats of more than one year (4%) significantly. PCR assay was useful in differentiating between T. foetus and another trichomonad observed in fecal samples of the cats.