Felis catus gammaherpesvirus 1 (FcaGHV1) and coinfections with feline viral pathogens in domestic cats in Brazil

Abstract

Felis catus gammaherpesvirus 1 (FcaGHV1) may causes an asymptomatic infection that result in an efficient transmission and subsequently dissemination of the virus in feline population. This study used molecular detection by qPCR (quantitative PCR) based on DNA polymerase gene fragment amplification to evaluate the occurrence of FcaGHV1 and its correlation with other feline viral pathogens, such as Carnivore protoparvovirus 1 (CPPV-1), Felid alphaherpesvirus 1 (FeHV-1), and feline retroviruses such as feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline leukemia virus (FeLV). Of the 182 blood samples evaluated 23.6% (43/182) were positives for FcaGHV1. Approximately 37.9% (33/87) of the samples that tested positive for retrovirus were also were positive for FcaGHV1 infection (P<0.0001). Among FIV-infected samples, 49% (24/49) were positive for FcaGHV1 (P<0.0001). FcaGHV1 infection was not associated with FeLV (P>0.66) or CPPV-1 (P>0.46) coinfection. All samples were negative for FeHV-1. Male felines were significantly associated to FcaGHV1 (P<0.0001) and their risk of infection with FcaGHV1 was about of 7.74 times greater compared to females. Kittens (≤ 1year) were the least affected by FcaGHV1 infection, being verified a rate of 7.7% (4/52). Therefore, male cats over one year old and infected with FIV were considerably more likely to be infected with FcaGHV1. To our knowledge, this is the first study to report the occurrence and molecular detection of FcaGHV1 infection in domestic cats in Brazil and in South America.

Identification of a novel gammaherpesvirus in Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis)

“…We did not find any statistically significant risk factors for LcaGHV1 infection (Table 3). We and others had previously found that being male and of older age were significant risk factors for FcaGHV1-positive status in domestic cats Troyer et al, 2014), and this relationship has been confirmed by other studies (Ertl et al, 2015;Kurissio et al, 2018;McLuckie et al, 2016;Stutzman-Rodriguez et al, 2016). This relationship between sex and infection status was not observed in wild felids (pumas and bobcats), however the association with higher age was .…”

“…Alternatively, the branching pattern seen in the evolution of felids is nearly identical to that of their respective GHVs (Johnson et al, 2006), suggesting speciation could account for the observed felid percavirus subclade. More recently, FcaGHV1 has been identified in Europe (Ertl et al, 2015), Japan (Tateno et al, 2017), and Brazil (Kurissio et al, 2018), suggesting world-wide distribution. Though it is not clear whether this world-wide distribution is natural or whether it is due to human activity, especially since domestic cats are pets in many parts of the world.…”

“…This analysis did not indicate any significant relationships (Table 3). Male sex has consistently been a strong risk factor for FcaGHV1 in domestic cats Ertl et al, 2015;Kurissio et al, 2018;McLuckie et al, 2016;Stutzman-Rodriguez et al, 2016;Troyer et al, 2014) but not for LruGHV1 in bobcats (Loisel et al, 2018;Troyer et al, 2014). The lack of a sex association in lynx suggests that the strong association between males and felid GHV infection may be specific to domestic and not wild cat species .…”

“…We have previously described the first domestic cat GHV; Felis catus gammaherpesvirus 1 (FcaGHV1), which has since been found in cats from North America, South America, Europe, Australia, and Asia Ertl et al, 2015;Kurissio et al, 2018;Tateno et al, 2017;Troyer et al, 2014). We also identified novel GHV species in bobcats (Lynx rufus, LruGHV1 and LruGHV2), pumas (Puma concolor, PcoGHV1), and ocelots (Leopardus pardalis, LpaGHV1) (Lozano et al, 2015;Troyer et al, 2014).…”

Transcriptome Analysis and In Situ Hybridization for FcaGHV1 in Feline Lymphoma

“…FcaGHV1 infection has been reported in cats from Australia, USA, UK, central Europe, Japan, Singapore and Brazil, with 9.6% to 23.6% testing positive for FcaGHV1 on whole blood quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) [ 1 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. One study showed that anti-FcaGHV1 antibodies identified persistent infection in 35% of cats, and the true infection prevalence may be higher [ 15 ].…”