Stenotrophomonas Maltophilia as a Causative Agent of Chronic Respiratory Disease in Scottish Tomcat

Stenotrophomonas Maltophilia in Scottish Tomcat

Abstract

Sneezing and nasal discharge are common in cats with respiratory diseases.. Bacterial, viral and fungal agents are included in the etiology of respiratory diseases. Although Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (S. Maltophilia) is accepted as a harmless commensal and a colonizer due to its actions that are not enough to elicit neither an immune response nor clinical symptoms, it was isolated from animals with chronic respiratory disease in veterinary medicine. In this case report, the indentification and treatment of S. maltophilia in a cat with chronic respiratory disease, whose treatment was not successful with the use of empirical antibiotics, were presented. The physical examination of the cat revealed normal vital signs and prominent bilateral mucopurulent nasal discharge. No abnormal blood analysis results were observed except mild respiratory acidosis, lymphocytosis and elevated alkaline phosphatase enzyme level. After ruling out fungal factors and systemic viral infections, the agent identified as a result of aerobic culture. A complete recovery was achieved by the treatment protocol including secretolytic (ambroxol, 1 mg/kg), decongestant (oxymetazoline, 0.05%) and antibiotic (enroflaxacin, 5 mg/kg) administrations in line with the antibiogram results performed by the disc diffusion method (Mueller-Hinton Agar). All follow-up clinical and blood parameters were within normal reference ranges as a result of physical and laboratory examinations. As a result, it was concluded that S. maltophilia should be considered in the etiology of persistent, antibiotic-resistant chronic respiratory diseases of cats and that antibiogram and agent identification are important in its diagnosis.