Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Checking protective antibodies for cat viruses in shelter cats
By Digangi, Brian A et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2011·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Detection of protective antibody titers against feline panleukopenia virus, feline herpesvirus-1, and feline calicivirus in shelter cats using a point-of-care ELISA.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of shelter cats was tested for protective antibodies against feline panleukopenia virus (FPV), feline herpesvirus-1 (FHV), and feline calicivirus (FCV) using a quick test. While the tests were not very reliable for detecting FPV antibodies, they were effective for FHV and FCV. This means that while the tests can help identify cats protected against some viruses, they may not be as useful for FPV. Improving the accuracy of these tests could help shelters manage disease outbreaks better in the future.
Abstract
Serum antibody titers are a useful measurement of protection against infection (feline panleukopenia virus [FPV]) or clinical disease (feline herpesvirus-1 [FHV] and feline calicivirus [FCV]), and their determination has been recommended as part of disease outbreak management in animal shelters. The objective of this study was to determine the sensitivity, specificity, and inter-observer and inter-assay agreement of two semi-quantitative point-of-care assays for the detection of protective antibody titers (PAT) against FPV, FHV and FCV in shelter cats. Low sensitivity for FPV antibodies (28%) rendered a canine point-of-care assay inappropriate for use in cats. The feline point-of-care assay also had low sensitivity (49%) and low negative predictive value (74%) for FPV PAT detection, but was highly accurate in the assessment of FHV and FCV PAT. Improvements in accuracy and repeatability of FPV PAT determination could make this tool a valuable component of a disease outbreak response in animal shelters.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21885311/