Figure 4

Flow cytometric monitoring of haemoplasma infection during treatment using doxycycline. Blood samples from an anaemic cat with a Mycoplasma haemofelis (Hf) infection with were taken at the point of initial diagnosis and every two weeks following commencement of doxycycline therapy. Flow cytometric profiles show DRAQ5 uptake versus cell size (FSC). The rectangular gates correspond to the location of Mycoplasma haemofelis-infected erythrocytes, with numbers indicating the frequency of DRAQ5-positive erythrocytes. Left panel: DRAQ5-uptake in an uninfected animal. Subsequent panels show DRAQ5-uptake in samples from the same animal from initial diagnosis and at 2-weekly intervals following commencement of doxycycline (DOX) treatment. The frequency of DRAQ5-positive erythrocytes clearly decreases over time with successful antimicrobial therapy.