An immunohistochemical and polymerase chain reaction evaluation of feline plasmacytic pododermatitis

Sections of 14 skin biopsies of cats with plasmacytic pododermatitis and a clinical follow-up of 12-36 months were stained with a polyclonal anti-Mycobacterium bovis (Bacille Calmette-Guerin = BCG) antibody cross-reactive to a broad spectrum of fungi and bacteria. All sections were negative for organisms within the actual footpad tissue with the anti-BCG antibody stains. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays that amplify the DNA of Bartonella spp., Ehrlichia spp., Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Chlamydophila felis, Mycoplasma spp., Toxoplasma gondii, and feline herpesvirus 1 (FHV-1) were applied to tissue digests. DNA of those pathogens assessed was not amplified from tissue.