Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How to test FIV infection in vaccinated cats using antibody kits
By Westman, Mark E et al.·Published in Comparative immunology, microbiology and infectious diseases·2015·Faculty of Veterinary Science, Australia·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Determining the feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) status of FIV-vaccinated cats using point-of-care antibody kits.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of cats, both vaccinated and unvaccinated against feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), were tested to see if their FIV status could be accurately determined using quick antibody test kits. The study found that two specific tests were very effective in identifying whether a cat was truly infected with FIV, regardless of their vaccination history. However, one test was not reliable and couldn't distinguish between vaccination and actual infection. These findings could help veterinarians better screen for FIV, especially in shelters where testing costs can be a concern.
People also search for: cat FIV vaccination test · how to test for FIV in cats · FIV symptoms in vaccinated cats
Abstract
This study challenges the commonly held view that the feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infection status of FIV-vaccinated cats cannot be determined using point-of-care antibody test kits due to indistinguishable antibody production in FIV-vaccinated and naturally FIV-infected cats. The performance of three commercially available point-of-care antibody test kits was compared in a mixed population of FIV-vaccinated (n=119) and FIV-unvaccinated (n=239) cats in Australia. FIV infection status was assigned by considering the results of all antibody kits in concert with results from a commercially available PCR assay (FIV RealPCR™). Two lateral flow immunochromatography test kits (Witness FeLV/FIV; Anigen Rapid FIV/FeLV) had excellent overall sensitivity (100%; 100%) and specificity (98%; 100%) and could discern the true FIV infection status of cats, irrespective of FIV vaccination history. The lateral flow ELISA test kit (SNAP FIV/FeLV Combo) could not determine if antibodies detected were due to previous FIV vaccination, natural FIV infection, or both. The sensitivity and specificity of FIV RealPCR™ for detection of viral and proviral nucleic acid was 92% and 99%, respectively. These results will potentially change the way veterinary practitioners screen for FIV in jurisdictions where FIV vaccination is practiced, especially in shelter scenarios where the feasibility of mass screening is impacted by the cost of testing.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26459979/