Prevalence of Bordetella bronchiseptica in cats attended by a veterinary practice in the Manawatu region.

Aims: To determine the prevalence by isolation of Bordetella bronchiseptica infection in healthy cats and in cats showing signs of upper respiratory t ract (URT) disease attended by a veterinary practice in the Manawatu region . Methods: The nasal cavity and oropharynx of 100 cats of mixed sex and age w ere swabbed and the swabs cultured fur B. bronchiseptica. The population of cats surveyed was that attended by the Massey University Veterinary Teachi ng Hospital, and included healthy cats, cats with clinical signs of URT dis ease, cats with a recent history of URT disease, cats from single cat house holds, cats from multiple-cat households, and cats from a colony. Results: Bordetella bronchiseptica was recovered from 7 cats (5 from pharyn geal samples and 2 from nasal samples). Five of the 7 cats appeared to be h ealthy at the time of sampling, whilst 2 showed clinical signs of URT disea se. Six of the 7 culture-positive cats were from a cat colony. The prevalen ce of B. bronchiseptica in healthy cats sampled was 7% and in cats with URT disease was 8%. Conclusion: This study confirms that B. bronchiseptica infection is present , but the prevalence of infection is low, in both healthy cats and in cats with URT disease attended by the Massey University Veterinary Teaching Hosp ital. It is unlikely that B. bronchiseptica infection is a frequent cause o f feline URT disease of cats in this region.