Evidence of Feline Immunodeficiency Virus, Feline Leukemia Virus, and Toxoplasma gondii in Feral Cats on Mauna Kea, Hawaii

Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is a cosmopolitan protozoan parasite that infects all warm-blooded species including humans. The definitive hosts of T. gondii are felid vertebrates including the domestic cat. Domestic cats shed oocysts for approximately two weeks in their feces after the primary infection. It has been shown that feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) positive cats have a higher prevalence of and a higher titer of antibodies to T. gondii than those of FIV-negative cats. The main purposes of this study were to determine FIV prevalence and to investigate the oocysts shedding in FIV-positive and FIV-negative feral cats on St. Kitts. Fecal samples were collected from feral cats while their FIV statues were determined using a commercial SNAP kit. Total fecal DNA of each cat was tested for the presence of T. gondii DNA using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) consistently detecting one genome equivalent. A FIV-positive status was detected in 18 of 105 (17.1%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 9.9%−24.3%) feral cats sampled. Furthermore, males were three times more likely to be FIV positive than females (p = 0.017) with an odds ratio of 3.93 (95% CI: 1.20–12.89). Adults were found to have at least twice the prevalence of FIV compared to cats younger than one year of age (p = 0.056) with an odds ratio of 3.07 (95% CI: 0.94–10.00). Toxoplasma gondii DNA was not detected in the feces of any of the 18 FIV-positive (95% CI: 0%−0.18%) and 87 FIV-negative cats (95% CI: 0%−0.04%). A follow-up study with a much bigger sample size is needed to prove or disprove the hypothesis that FIV-positive cats have a higher prevalence of shedding T. gondii oocysts than FIV-negative cats.

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Evaluation of the association ofBartonellaspecies, feline herpesvirus 1, feline calicivirus, feline leukemia virus and feline immunodeficiency virus with chronic feline gingivostomatitis

Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery ◽

10.1016/j.jfms.2007.05.007 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 66-72 ◽

Cited By ~ 50

Author(s):

Jessica M. Quimby ◽

Thomas Elston ◽

Jennifer Hawley ◽

Melissa Brewer ◽

Arianne Miller ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Feline Immunodeficiency Virus ◽

Leukemia Virus ◽

Feline Leukemia Virus ◽

Feline Calicivirus ◽

Immunodeficiency Virus ◽

Feline Herpesvirus ◽

Herpesvirus 1

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Prevalence of feline coronavirus, feline leukemia virus, and feline immunodeficiency virus in client-owned cats in Croatia

JOURNAL OF ADVANCES IN NATURAL SCIENCES ◽

10.24297/jns.v8i.9091 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

pp. 24-38

Author(s):

Jelena Raukar

Keyword(s):

Veterinary Medicine ◽

Feline Immunodeficiency Virus ◽

Leukemia Virus ◽

Feline Leukemia Virus ◽

Antibody Prevalence ◽

Blood Samples ◽

Proviral Dna ◽

Immunodeficiency Virus ◽

Feline Coronavirus

This study aimed to determine prevalences for anti-FCoV antibody, FeLV antigen, FeLV proviral DNA, and anti-FIV antibody among client-owned cats from the cities of Zagreb and Varaždin in Croatia. Subjects included 106 client-owned cats tested at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria. Blood samples were tested with IFA for anti-FCoV antibody and IFA FCoV antibody titeres, with ELISA for FeLV p27 antigen, with PCR for FeLV proviral DNA, and with RIM for anti-FIV antibody. Prevalence of FCoV and FeLV was 41.51% and 6.60%, respectively. A coinfection with FeLV/FCoV and FIV/FCoV prevalence was 7.55% and 5.66%. No cats were coinfected with FIV and FeLV. All three viruses were detected, confirming their presence in Croatia. The seroepidemiological findings demonstrate that both feline retroviruses and feline coronavirus are important feline pathogens in Croatia.

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