Feline panleukopaenia virus in captive non-domestic felids in South Africa.

Emily P. Lane,Almero Oosthuizen,Liza Du Plessis,Peter Caldwell,Helene Brettschneider,Antoinette Kotze,Desiré L. Dalton,Johan Steyl

doi:10.4102/ojvr.v83i1.1099

Abstract

An outbreak of feline panleukopaenia virus (FPLV) infection was diagnosed by pathology, electron microscopy and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in vaccinated captive-bred subadult cheetahs in South Africa. Subsequent to this disease outbreak, 12 cases of FPLV diagnosed on histology were confirmed by PCR in captive African black-footed cat, caracal, cheetah, lion, ocelot and serval. Phylogenetic analyses of the viral capsid protein gene on PCR-positive samples, vaccine and National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) reference strains identified a previously unknown strain of FPLV, present since at least 2006, that differs from both the inactivated and the modified live vaccine strains. A previously described South African strain from domestic cats and cheetahs was identified in a serval. Surveys of FPLV strains in South African felids are needed to determine the geographical and host species distribution of this virus. Since non-domestic species may be reservoirs of parvoviruses, and since these viruses readily change host specificity, the risks of FPLV transmission between captive-bred and free-ranging carnivores and domestic cats and dogs warrant further research.

Highlights

Feline panleukopaenia virus (FPLV) infection, the first viral disease identified in cats, is one of the most common viral diseases of domestic cats (Felis domesticus)
FPLVs are classified under the family Parvoviridae and are related to mink enteritis virus (MEV) and canine parvovirus (CPV) (Nakamura et al 2001; Steinel et al 2000; Truyen et al 1996)
Subsequent to the outbreak in cheetahs, animal carcasses, a rectal swab, formalin-fixed tissues or formalin-fixed paraffinembedded tissues (FFPE) from various single or multiple cases in captive felids were submitted to the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa (NZG) for pathological examination and/or molecular diagnostic testing for FPLV infection by the owners, veterinarians and pathologists throughout South Africa (Cases 6–20)

Summary

Introduction

Feline panleukopaenia virus (FPLV) infection, the first viral disease identified in cats, is one of the most common viral diseases of domestic cats (Felis domesticus). FPLVs are classified under the family Parvoviridae and are related to mink enteritis virus (MEV) and canine parvovirus (CPV) (Nakamura et al 2001; Steinel et al 2000; Truyen et al 1996) It is highly contagious, affects both domestic and non-domestic felids and is transmitted by direct and indirect contact with infected animals and their secretions, especially faeces. Parvoviruses in nondomestic carnivores may represent a reservoir that periodically spills over into domestic carnivore populations or provide alternate evolutionary pathways that facilitate pandemics (Allison et al 2012, 2013, 2014; Belyi et al 2010) Both CPV and FPLV typically infect multiple hosts and passage through different hosts may favour selected viral capsid mutations that facilitate changed host specificity (Allison et al 2014)

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