Clinical mite infestations of domestic cats seropositive for feline immunodeficiency and/or feline leukemia viruses

Due to the character of the original source materials and the nature of batch digitization, quality control issues may be present in this document. Please report any quality issues you encounter to digital@library.tamu.edu, referencing the URI of the item.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 39-41).Issued also on microfiche from Lange Micrographics.Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and Feline leukemia virus (FeLV) are both immunosuppressive viruses that compromise the ability of a feline host to combat foreign parhogens. Skin infections caused by parasitic mites are often observed among cats with FIV and/or FeLV. During the course of the investigation two separate experimental components were studied to determine if cats infected with FIV and/or FeLV had a higher prevalence of infestation by Notoedres cati. A histological study was done concomitantly to determine if any differences existed relating to the immune responses of FIV-positive versus FIV-negative cats with feline scabies caused by N. cati. Hair and skin scrapings were taken from cats in ten Austin area clinics and feral cats in College Station, Texas. The virus status of each cat was determined and correllated to the presence or absence of parasitic mites. Results from the Austin area study were inconclusive due to an inadequte sample size. Results from the College Station feral cat study indicated that N. cati is most likely not endemic among feral cats in the College Station area. The histological study failed to detect and differneces between the immune respone of FIV-positive and FIV-negative cats infected with N. cati. Further research efforts will be necessary to determine if an association exists between external parasitism by mites and immunosuppressive viruses