43 PP
FREQUENCY OF ISOLATION AND ENUMERATION OF THREE FELINE ORAL PORPHYROMONAS SPECIES FROM SUBCUTANEOUS ABSCESSES IN DOMESTIC CATS

Norris, JM and Love, DN*
Department of Veterinary Anatomy & Pathology, Sydney University, NSW 2006 Australia

Fifteen cats selected from participating general practices were included in the study. Each had a single lesion consistent with a cat fight wound, had not been given prior interventionist or antimicrobial treatment and had a wound which was closed at the time of sampling.

The aim of the study was to determine the total cfu of facultatively and obligately anaerobic bacterial species (FOA) from these subcutaneous "fight wound" abscesses and the proportions of these which were members of the genus Porphyromonas. Using digoxygenin labelled species specific DNA probes, enumeration of the feline Porphyromonas species - P.gingivalis (PgF), P.salivosa (Ps) and P.circumdentaria (Pc) was made.

The study showed that Porphyromonas species represented between 11% and 99.8% (2.7 x 10⁶ - 4.8 x 10⁸ cfu/ml) of FOA in 12 of the 15 abscesses examined. PgF was isolated from 10 of 15 abscesses (66.7%) and represented between 2% and 52% (8 x 10⁵ - 1.6 x 10⁸ cfu/ml) of FOA. In five of these abscesses PgF was isolated in the absence of Ps or Pc. Ps was isolated from 4 of 15 abscesses and represented between 26% and 76% of FOA with 1.3 x 10⁷ - 1.6 x 10⁸ cfu/ml pus. In two cases Ps was isolated without Pc or PgF. Pc was isolated from 5 of 15 abscesses and represented between 6.7% and 36% of FOA with 1.2 x 10⁶ - 1.6 x 10⁸ cfu/ml pus. Pc was always associated with at least one other Porphyromonas species.

PgF occurred in 80% of the cat fight subcutaneous abscesses sampled and in numbers in excess of 10⁶ cfu/ml pus. PgF was isolated more frequently (66.7%) from abscesses than Ps and Pc and they were frequently isolated (33.3%) without Ps or Pc. Its numerical prominence (representing up to 51.7% of FOA) and its presence in large numbers in abscesses gives strong evidence for its presence as a primary active participant in the pathogenesis of the disease.