First PCR-Confirmed Case of Feline Hemoplasmosis in Bosnia and Herzegovina with a Long-Term Follow-Up

Hemotropic mycoplasmas are Gram-negative bacteria and are recognized as primary causative agents of feline infectious anemia, with a worldwide distribution and variable pathogenicity. This case report describes an unusual clinical presentation of hemoplasmosis in a seventeen-year-old spayed female cat that presented with severe flea infestation accompanied by marked weakness and lethargy. It was febrile, tachycardic, and tachypnoic, with prominent pallor of the mucous membranes. Laboratory analysis revealed severe, non-regenerative, microcytic and (falsely) hyperchromic anemia, with mild lymphopenia and slightly increased plateletcrit. The cat also tested positive for feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV). Blood smear examination raised suspicion of hemoplasmosis, which was later confirmed and identified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) as Candidatus Mycoplasma haematominutum. Following the treatment of ectoparasites, the cat was successfully treated with enrofloxacin and erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs), avoiding blood transfusion, and afterwards made a full clinical recovery. Although immunocompromised due to FIV, the cat lived for an additional five years without further relapses. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first documented and PCR-confirmed case of feline hemoplasmosis in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It also highlights the need for conducting a larger study in this region to evaluate hemoplasma prevalence in this species.