Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Feline immunodeficiency virus and coinfections in Brazilian semiarid
By Feitosa, Thais F et al.·Published in Comparative immunology, microbiology and infectious diseases·2021·Laborató·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: High rate of feline immunodeficiency virus infection in cats in the Brazilian semiarid region: Occurrence, associated factors and coinfection with Toxoplasma gondii and feline leukemia virus.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A study found that about 23% of cats in a Brazilian semiarid region tested positive for feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), with male cats being more likely to be infected. Additionally, over half of the cats had Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite that can cause health issues. Notably, 75% of the cats with FIV also had this parasite. However, feline leukemia virus (FeLV) was rare, affecting only 1% of the cats tested. This highlights the importance of regular health checks for cats, especially in areas where these infections are common.
People also search for: cat FIV symptoms · Toxoplasma gondii in cats · male cat health issues · feline leukemia virus prevalence
Abstract
To evaluate the occurrence of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and factors associated with this and to demonstrate occurrences of coinfection with Toxoplasma gondii and feline leukemia virus (FeLV) in cats, a total of 103 blood samples were collected from owned cats, during home visits. To diagnose FIV and FeLV, immunochromatographic kit was used and serological diagnoses of T. gondii, the indirect immunofluorescence test was performed. The occurrence of FIV-seropositive cats was 23.3% (24/103) and the factor associated with infection was male sex. T. gondii seropositivity of 53.4% (55/103) was observed and 75% of FIV cases (18/24) were positive for T. gondii coinfection. Only 0.9% (1/103) was positive for FeLV. It can be concluded that the seroprevalence of FIV in cats in the Brazilian semiarid region is high and that FIV positive cats were also likely to be T. gondii seropositive, while FeLV had very low occurrence in the study region.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34794005/