Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How PCR testing helps diagnose feline immunodeficiency virus infection
By Ammersbach, Mélanie et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2013·Department of Pathobiology, Canada·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Preliminary evaluation of a quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay for diagnosis of feline immunodeficiency virus infection.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of cats was tested for feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infection using a new blood test called quantitative PCR (qPCR). This test can help tell if a cat is truly infected or just vaccinated against FIV. In the study, the qPCR test correctly identified most of the infected cats and did not falsely identify uninfected cats as infected. This means the qPCR test could be a useful tool for vets to confirm FIV infection, especially in cats with unclear vaccination histories.
People also search for: cat FIV test · feline immunodeficiency virus symptoms · how to test for FIV in cats
Abstract
Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) has high sensitivity and specificity for detection of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) antibodies, but does not distinguish between infection and vaccination. Real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays may distinguish infected from vaccinated cats. Performance of a commercial qPCR assay was assessed with blood samples from 29 FIV-infected non-vaccinated, 26 FIV-uninfected vaccinated and 35 FIV-uninfected non-vaccinated cats. FIV infection status of cats was assigned based on a combination of vaccination and medical history, prevention of contact with potentially infected cats and two FIV antibody ELISA results. Test sensitivity and specificity were determined against this gold standard. The qPCR test yielded positive results in samples from 23/29 FIV-infected non-vaccinated, 2/26 FIV-uninfected vaccinated and 0/35 FIV-uninfected non-vaccinated cats. It was concluded that the qPCR test was moderately sensitive and highly specific for the diagnosis of FIV infection, and that it may be suitable for ruling out FIV infection in cats with a positive antibody ELISA result and unknown vaccination history.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23362341/