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Fatal infection with emerging apicomplexan parasite Hepatozoon silvestris in a domestic cat

Overview of attention for article published in Parasites & Vectors, July 2018
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Title
Fatal infection with emerging apicomplexan parasite Hepatozoon silvestris in a domestic cat
Published in
Parasites & Vectors, July 2018
DOI 10.1186/s13071-018-2992-4
Pubmed ID
Authors

Kristel Kegler, Ursina Nufer, Amer Alic, Horst Posthaus, Philipp Olias, Walter Basso

Abstract

Hepatozoon silvestris is an emerging apicomplexan parasite discovered in European wild cats from Bosnia and Herzegovina and blood samples of a domestic cat from Southern Italy in 2017. It has also been identified in Ixodes ricinus collected from a domestic cat in Wales, UK, in 2018. The clinical relevance, pathogenesis and epidemiology of this novel Hepatozoon species are not yet understood. Thus, the objective of this paper was to report and describe the first fatal case of an H. silvestris infection in a domestic cat. The cat, which originated from Switzerland, died shortly after presenting clinical signs of lethargy, weakness and anorexia. At necropsy, no specific lesions were observed. Histopathology of the heart revealed a severe lympho-plasmacytic and histiocytic myocarditis. Mature and developing protozoal meronts morphologically compatible with Hepatozoon species were observed associated with the myocardial inflammation. No other lesions were present in any other organ evaluated, and the cat tested negative for retroviral and other immunosuppressive infectious agents. Polymerase chain reaction from the myocardium resulted in a specific amplicon of the Hepatozoon 18S rRNA gene. Sequencing and BLAST analysis revealed 100% sequence identity with H. silvestris. The severity of the infection with fatal outcome in an otherwise healthy animal suggests a high virulence of H. silvestris for domestic cats. The presence of this emerging parasite in a domestic cat in Switzerland with no travel history provides further evidence for a geographical distribution throughout Europe.

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Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 28 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Unknown 28 100%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Researcher 6 21%
Student > Ph. D. Student 4 14%
Student > Master 4 14%
Student > Bachelor 3 11%
Professor 2 7%
Other 6 21%
Unknown 3 11%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Veterinary Science and Veterinary Medicine 9 32%
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 4 14%
Medicine and Dentistry 4 14%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 3 11%
Unspecified 1 4%
Other 4 14%
Unknown 3 11%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 1. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 28 November 2018.
All research outputs
#17,985,001
of 23,096,849 outputs
Outputs from Parasites & Vectors
#3,859
of 5,522 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#236,684
of 328,924 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Parasites & Vectors
#104
of 146 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 23,096,849 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 19th percentile – i.e., 19% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 5,522 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 5.7. This one is in the 22nd percentile – i.e., 22% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 328,924 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one is in the 23rd percentile – i.e., 23% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
We're also able to compare this research output to 146 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 19th percentile – i.e., 19% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.