Prevalence, co-infection and seasonality of fecal enteropathogens from diarrheic cats in the Republic of Korea (2016–2019): a retrospective study

Background Diarrhea is one of the most common clinical symptoms in cats and can be caused by infectious pathogens and investigation of the prevalence, co-infection and seasonality of enteropathogens are not well-established in diarrheic cats. Results Fecal samples of 1620 diarrheic cats were collected and enteropathogens were detected using real-time PCR. We retrospectively investigated the clinical features, total/seasonal prevalence, and infection patterns of enteropathogens. The positive infection rate was 82.59%. Bacterial, viral, and protozoal infections accounted for 49.3, 37.57, and 13.13% of cases, respectively. Feline enteric coronavirus (FECV) was the most common pathogen (29.37%), followed by Clostridium (C.) perfringens, Campylobacter (C.) coli, feline parvovirus, and Tritrichomonas foetus. The seasonality of enteropathogens was observed with peaks as follows: bacterial infections peaked in October, viral infections peaked in November, and protozoal infections peaked in August. Viral and protozoal infections showed differences in prevalence according to patient age. In the infection patterns, the ratios of single infections, mixed infections, and co-infections were 35.72, 9.87, and 54.41%, respectively. FECV was predominant in single infections. The most common patterns of multiple infections were C. perfringens and C. coli in mixed infections and C. perfringens and FECV in co-infections. Conclusions Infection patterns differed according to the enteropathogen species, seasonality, and age distribution in cats. The results of this study might be helpful to understand in clinical characteristics of feline infectious diarrhea. In addition, continued monitoring of feline enteropathogens is required.

Morphological indicators of blood in cats with panleucopenia

Ukraine is one of the world leaders in the number of cats among the country's population, and one of the most common diseases is panleukopenia caused by a virus of the Parvoviridae family, which is extremely common among viral diseases and causes significant moral damage to owner animals. Therefore, given the relevance of this issue, the result of our study is to clarify, supplement and summarize the data on hematological and biochemical parameters of blood and erythrocytopoiesis in panleukopenia of cats. The development and improvement of modern methods of immunoprophylaxis and treatment can significantly reduce morbidity and mortality. The study was performed in veterinary clinics of Zhytomyr and Kyiv, blood for the study was taken from the superficial vein of the forearm Anterbrachium, medial subcutaneous vein or subcutaneous tibial vein Saphena. Diagnostic tests to confirm feline parvovirus were performed using rapid tests VetExpert and ELISA and PCR for the presence of parvovirus antigen in private veterinary laboratories “BioSoft” and LLC “Bald” in Kiev. The complex studies carried out indicated that in cats (n = 24) with panleukopenia, changes in the morphological and biochemical composition of the blood are characteristic. A deviation from physiological limits was found, which mainly characterize the functional state of the liver, namely, an increase in the content of total bilirubin (P ≤ 0.01) and total protein (P ≤ 0.01), the development of pancreatitis – taking into account an increase in glucose concentration (P ≤ 0.05) and α-amylase hyperenzymemia (P ≤ 0.001), kidney damage as indicated by an increase in creatinine concentration (P ≤ 0.001) and urea level (P ≤ 0.01). In the course of the research, a slight decrease in indicators of the main erythrocyte indices was established, namely, a decrease in MCHC (P ≤ 0.05), which indicates the development of anemia. As a result of an experimental study of the morphological parameters of blood, a complex pathogenesis of the disease with panleukopenia with multiple organ failure and the development of pathological immunosuppression and hepato-pancreatic-renal syndrome was established.

Triple Viral Infections in The Same Cats: Feline Coronavirus, Feline Parvovirus, Feline Foamy Virus

Objective. Several studies from different countries have been performed about the viral diseases of domestic cats, and detailed information has been provided on their transmission, prevalence/incidence, virulence, origins/molecular characteristics and pathogenesis so far. Multiple- or co-infections in domestic and wild cats have been described by many papers. However, viral co-infections have been reported on a limited basis. In this study, three domestic clinically diseased cats have been found to be positive with feline coronavirus (FCoV), feline parvovirus (FPV) and feline foamy virus (FFoV). We aimed to examine triple viral infections circumstances in Turkish cats. Material and method. Ascites and blood samples were collected from diseased cats. Different polymerase chain reaction protocols for each virus were performed. After PCRs, all products were run in agarose gel and visualized under a blue-light transilluminator. Results. We found FCoV, FPV and FFoV as triple infection in three cats. Conclusions. We think that the results indicating the presence of multiple infections will ease the work of veterinary clinicians concerning infection treatment options, especially when animals show multiple clinical findings due to co-infections. It should be not forgotten the presence of multi-systemic co-infections in early routine laboratory diagnosis.

Molecular Characteristics and Genetic Evolutionary Analyses of Circulating Parvoviruses Derived From Cats in Beijing

Background: Feline parvovirus (FPV) is a member of the Parvoviridae family, which is a major enteric pathogen of cats worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of feline parvovirus in Beijing, China and analyze the genetic features of detected viruses.Results: In this study, a total of 60 parvovirus-positive samples (8.5%) were detected from 702 cat fecal samples using parvovirus specific PCR. The complete VP2 genes were amplified from all these samples. Among them, 55 sequences were characterized as FPV (91.7%), the other five were typed as canine parvovirus type 2 (CPV-2) variants (8.3%), comprised of four CPV-2c and a new CPV-2b strain. In order to identify the origin of CPV-2 variants in cats, we amplified full-length VP2 genes from 7 fecal samples of dogs infected with CPV-2, which were further classified as CPV-2c. Moreover, the sequences of new CPV-2b/MT270586 and CPV-2c/MT270587 detected from feline samples shared 100% identity with previous canine isolates KT156833 and MF467242 respectively, indicating the CPV-2 variants circulating in cats were derived from dogs. Sequence analysis indicated new mutations, Ala91Ser and Ser192Phe, in the FPV sequences, while obtained CPV-2c carried mutations reported in Asian CPV variants, showing they share a common evolutionary pattern with the Asian 2c strains. Interestingly, the FPV sequence (MT270571), displaying four CPV-specific residues, was found to be a putative recombinant sequence between CPV-2c and FPV. Phylogenetic analysis of the VP2 gene showed that amino acid and nucleotide mutations promoted the evolution of different geographical branches of FPV and CPV lineages.Conclusions: Our findings will be helpful to further understand the circulation and evolution of canine and feline parvovirus in Beijing.

Genetic Insights into Feline Parvovirus: Evaluation of Viral Evolutionary Patterns and Association between Phylogeny and Clinical Variables

Feline panleukopenia is a severe disease of cats caused by feline parvovirus (FPV), and marginally canine parvovirus (CPV). Despite being less rapid than CPV, FPV evolution deserves attention, especially since outbreaks of particular severity are currently reported. This apparently different virulence needs monitoring from genetic and clinical points of view. This manuscript explored FPV molecular epidemiology at both Italian and international levels and the possible association between viral phylogeny and disease severity. Sequences from clinical cases of feline panleukopenia in Italy were obtained from 2011 to 2019, and the etiological agent was characterized, distinguishing FPV from CPV. Phylogenetic and phylodynamic analyses were conducted on Italian and international sequences. Moreover, the association between the viral sequence and clinical variables was evaluated on a group of highly characterized patients. After its origin in the 1920s, FPV showed a constant population size until a more recent expansion since 2000. Few long-distance introduction events characterized FPV spreading, however, most of its evolution occurred locally. Although without a strong statistical association, several clinical variables appeared influenced by viral phylogeny, suggesting a differential virulence potentially characterizing FPV strains. These results stress the importance of the continuous study of viral evolution and its repercussions on the disease clinical aspects.

Genetic Characterization of Feline Parvovirus Isolate Fe–P2 in Korean Cat and Serological Evidence on Its Infection in Wild Leopard Cat and Asian Badger

Feline parvovirus (FPV) is a small, non-enveloped, single-stranded DNA virus that infects cats. We recently isolated a feline parvovirus Fe–P2 strain from a dead stray cat in Iksan, 2017. Its partial genomic sequence (4,643 bases) was obtained, and phylogenetic analysis based on the VP2 nucleotide sequence showed that the FPV Fe-P2 strain was closely related to the FPV isolate Gigucheon in cat, 2017 (MN400978). In addition, we performed a serum neutralization (SN) test with the FPV isolates in various mammalian sera. These were from raccoon dog, water deer, Eurasian otter, Korean hare, leopard cat, and Asian badger, which were kindly provided by Chungnam Wild Animal Rescue Center. Notably, serological evidence of its infection was found in Asian badger, Meles leucurus (2/2) and leopard cat, Prionailurus bengalensis (5/8) through SN tests, whereas there was no evidence in raccoon dog, water deer, Eurasian otter, and Korean hare based on the collected sera in this study. These findings might provide partial evidence for the possible circulation of FPV or its related viruses among wild leopard cat and Asian badger in Korea. There should be additional study to confirm this through direct detection of FPVs in the related animal samples.

Retrospective longitudinal study on Canine and Feline Parvovirus Infections in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates

Background: There is a lack of epidemiological data on parvovirus infections in cats and dogs in the Al Ain, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Objective: To conduct retrospective longitudinal study on parvovirus infections in cats and dogs treated at the Claws and Paws Veterinary Clinic in Al Ain, UAE. Methods: Data on clinical examination and laboratory tests were extracted in March 2020 retrospectively from case records of cats and dogs treated at Paws & Claws Veterinary Clinic in Al Ain between February 2019 to March 2020. Results: Of the total 2247 cases of small animals treated at Claws and Paws clinic for different health problems between February 2019 and March 2020, 68 were parvovirus infection cases constituting 3% (95% confidence interval, CI: 2.3%, 3.8%) of the total small animal cases treated at the Clinic during the indicated time. Seventy-two percent of the parvovirus cases were feline parvovirus (FPV) cases (feline panleukopenia) while the remaining 28% of the cases were canine parvovirus (CPV) cases. The difference in the proportions of CPV and FPV was significant (c2 = 26.14; p<0.001). Overall, the number of cases was low during most months of the year; but increased in November and December 2019 reaching its peak in January 2020 after which it declined. Significant (Cochran’s Q test=141.54; p<0.001) difference was observed in the proportions of animals exhibited different clinical signs. Conclusion: This study indicated the endemicity of CPV and FPV infections in Al Ain. Additionally, increase in number of cases was observed between November January, suggesting seasonality of the epidemics requiring for vaccination prior to the epidemic period.