Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Detecting feline leukemia virus in sick cats in Malaysia
By Kunambiga Mummoorthy et al.·Published in Veterinary World·2021·Gasing Veterinary Hospital, 53 and 55, Jalan 5/58, Gasing Indah, 46000 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia., NZ·View original on DOAJ →
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Original publication title: Molecular detection of feline leukemia virus in clinically ill cats in Klang Valley, Malaysia
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
Two cats from a veterinary hospital in Malaysia were found to have feline leukemia virus (FeLV) after showing signs of illness. Researchers collected samples from both sick and healthy cats to test for the virus. The results showed that the sick cats had FeLV RNA, indicating an active infection. The study found that the virus in these cats was closely related to previous strains found in Malaysia and Japan, suggesting that the same type of FeLV is still affecting cats in the area.
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Abstract
Background and Aim: Feline leukemia virus (FeLV) is classified as Retroviridae gammaretrovirus. FeLV occurs worldwide, including Malaysia. Thus far, only one decade-old study on molecular characterization of Malaysian FeLV isolates exists, which resulted in a scarcity of updated information of current FeLV isolates circulating in Malaysia. This study was conducted to determine the status of FeLV in clinically ill cats and to study the molecular characterization and phylogenetic relatedness of the current isolates. Materials and Methods: Convenience sampling was performed in 20 cats from the Gasing Veterinary Hospital in Selangor. Plasma and saliva samples were collected from 15 clinically ill cats and 5 healthy cats subjected to one-step reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction with primers targeting a highly conserved gene of U3-LTR-gag. Results: Two clinically ill cats' plasma and saliva samples tested positive for FeLV RNA. Partial nucleotide sequencing and phylogenetic analysis revealed that the current isolates were 94-99% homologous to the previous Malaysian and Japanese FeLV isolates. Conclusion: Current FeLV isolates from this study displayed higher similarity with the previous Malaysian isolates, signifying that a similar FeLV strain circulated among the cat population in Selangor.
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Search related cases →Original publication on DOAJ: https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2021.405-409