A prospective epidemiological,clinical, and clinicopathologic study of feline leukemia virus and feline immunodeficiency virus infection in 435 cats from Greece |
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| Institution: | 1. Clinic of Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Thessaly, 224 Trikalon Str., GR-43132, Karditsa, Greece;2. Laboratory of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Animal Health Economics, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Thessaly, 224 Trikalon Str., GR-43132, Karditsa, Greece;3. Companion Animal Clinic, School of Veterinary Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 11 Stavrou Voutyra Str., GR-54627, Thessaloniki, Greece;4. Gastrointestinal Laboratory, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A & M University, 4474-77843 TAMU, College Station, TX, USA;1. Laboratory of Animal Pathology, Agroveterinary Sciences Center, Brazil;2. Postgraduate Program in Animal Science, Brazil;3. Student of Veterinary Medicine, University of Santa Catarina State, Av. Luís de Camões 2090, Conta Dinheiro, Lages, Santa Catarina, Brazil;1. Clinical Laboratory and Center for Clinical Studies, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland;2. Clinic for Small Animal Internal Medicine, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland;3. Institute of Veterinary Pathology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland |
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| Abstract: | Feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) are retroviruses causing significant morbidity and mortality in cats. The aim of this study was to describe the epidemiological, clinical and clinicopathologic aspects of FeLV and FIV infections in different populations of cats in Greece, including client-owned cats, stray cats and cats who live in catteries.A total of 435 cats were prospectively enrolled. Serological detection of FeLV antigen and FIV antibody was performed using a commercial in-house ELISA test kit.The results showed that 17 (3.9 %) and 40 (9.2 %) of the 435 cats were positive for FeLV antigen and FIV antibody, respectively, whereas 5 (1.1 %) had concurrent infection with FeLV and FIV. Factors that were associated with FeLV antigenemia, based on multivariate analysis, included vomiting, rhinitis, infection with FIV, neutropenia, decreased blood urea nitrogen and increased serum cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations. Factors associated with FIV seropositivity included male gender, older age, outdoor access, weight loss, fever, gingivostomatitis, skin lesions and/or pruritus and hyperglobulinemia.Various clinical signs and laboratory abnormalities were found to be significantly associated with retroviral infections, suggesting that current guidelines to test all sick cats should be followed, taking into particular consideration the high-risk groups of cats found in this study. |
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| Keywords: | Retrovirus Infectious diseases Prevalence Serology Risk factors |
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