Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
High virus levels can lower cat coronavirus antibody test results
By Meli, Marina L et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2013·University of Zurich·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Samples with high virus load cause a trend toward lower signal in feline coronavirus antibody tests.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of cats with feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) had low results on their feline coronavirus (FCoV) antibody tests, which are used to diagnose this serious disease. Researchers found that samples with high levels of the virus could interfere with the test results, leading to falsely low or negative readings. In fact, in 71% of the cases studied, the presence of the virus was linked to these misleading test outcomes. This means that if your cat has a low FCoV antibody test but shows symptoms of FIP, it might be worth discussing further testing with your veterinarian.
People also search for: cat FIP symptoms · feline coronavirus test results · why is my cat sick with low antibody levels
Abstract
Measurement of feline coronavirus (FCoV) antibody titres is utilised mainly for diagnosing feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) and for quarantine purposes. However, occasional samples show a falsely low or negative FCoV antibody test. We tested the hypothesis that such results are due to virus in the sample binding antibody and rendering it unavailable to antigen in the test. Thirteen effusions, one plasma and three undefined samples from cats with FIP, which gave unexpectedly low FCoV antibody titres, were examined by real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Increasing amounts of virus correlated with lower signals in indirect immunoflourescent, enzyme-linked immunosorbent asssay and rapid immunomigration antibody tests. However, five samples were negative by RT-PCR, so the presence of virus alone may not explain all cases of false-negative FCoV antibody tests, although it is a possible explanation in 71% of discordant samples. We conclude that falsely low or negative FCoV antibody tests can occur in samples rich in virus.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23220869/