Abstract
Problem statement: The objective of the present study was to evaluate occurrence of the Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) and the Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV) infection in asymptomatic domestic cats in the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, using the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) for FIV detection and SNAP Combo Plus for FeLV and FIV detection. Approach: Blood samples were collected from the jugular vein of 78 healthy cats, mixed breeds and ages and both sexes. Specific primers were designed for PCR to amplify a 244 bp fragment of FIV gag gene. Results: Five animals (6.41%) were positive by PCR and three animals (3.85%) were positive by SNAP Combo Plus for FIV and 14 animals were positive for FeLV (17.95%). Conclusion: These results suggest that there is a significant occurrence of asymptomatic infected animals which may serve as potential transmitters of FIV and FeLV.
Highlights
The Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) and Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV) belong to the family Retroviridae, they are distributed worldwide and induce persistent infections in domestic cats and other small felids (Hosie et al, 1989; Pedersen et al, 1987; Yamamoto et al, 1989)
The objective of the present study was to evaluate the occurrence of the feline immunodeficiency virus and the feline leukemia virus infection in asymptomatic cats in the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte, Minas
Contingency tables demonstrate the distribution of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and SNAP Combo Plus results by gender (Table 1-3)
Summary
The Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) and Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV) belong to the family Retroviridae, they are distributed worldwide and induce persistent infections in domestic cats and other small felids (Hosie et al, 1989; Pedersen et al, 1987; Yamamoto et al, 1989). FIV and FeLV infected cats may remain asymptomatic for years; eventually succumb due to direct viral effects or, more commonly, to secondary infections resulting from virus-induced immunosuppression (Pedersen et al, 1987; Bendinelli et al, 1995; Hardy et al, 1976; Johnson et al, 1994; Norsworthy et al, 1993; Okada et al, 1994). The rate of FIV and FeLV infection is influenced by gender (males greater than females due to roaming behavior); age (older cats are more likely to be infected) and health (sick cats are more likely to be infected, due to an impaired immune system) (Courchamp and Pontier, 1994)
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