Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for Detection of Feline Herpesvirus 1 IgG in Serum, Aqueous Humor, and Cerebrospinal Fluid

Abstract

Abstract. Feline herpesvirus 1 (FHV) is an important cause of feline ocular and respiratory disease, but the role the virus plays in central nervous system disease of cats has not been explored. The study described here was performed to validate an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect FHV-specific IgG antibodies for use in feline epidemiologic, ocular, and central nervous system disease studies. The indirect IgG ELISA was applied to serum, aqueous humor, and cerebrospinal fluid from cats. Serum FHV IgG ELISA results were compared with those of serum neutralization in client-owned cats and laboratory-housed cats following vaccination. Of the 100 client-owned cats tested by ELISA, 97 had detectable FHV IgG; 95 had titers Ͼ32. The FHV IgG ELISA was more sensitive than serum neutralization and could be used with aqueous humor and cerebrospinal fluid. Cats with inflammatory central nervous system or ocular diseases had significant leakage of serum proteins into aqueous humor and cerebrospinal fluid, necessitating use of cutoff values derived from serum when these fluids were assessed.

Felid Herpesvirus Type 1 Infection in Cats: A Natural Host Model for Alphaherpesvirus Pathogenesis

“…Virus neutralizing antibodies can be low and slow to develop. As pointed out by Dawson et al [34], a low level of neutralizing antibodies does not imply the absence of protection against clinical disease.…”

Feline Herpesvirus Infection: ABCD Guidelines on Prevention and Management

“…Antibody may persist for up to 10 weeks, but in some studies about 25% of the kittens became MDA-negative at only 6 weeks of age. 10,11 Active immune response Natural FHV infection does not result in solid immunity as seen, for example, in feline panleukopenia virus infections. In general, the immune response protects against disease, but not against infection, and mild clinical signs have been observed following reinfection only 150 days after primary infection.…”

“…24,28 Antibody detection Antibodies to FHV can be detected in serum, aqueous humour and cerebrospinal fluid by serum neutralisation assay or ELISA. 11,19 Owing to natural infection and vaccination, seroprevalence is high in cats, and the presence of antibodies does not correlate with disease and active infection [EBM grade I]. 19 Moreover, serology does not distinguish between infected and vaccinated animals.…”

Controlled release delivery of penciclovir via a silicone (MED-4750) polymer: kinetics of drug delivery and efficacy in preventing primary feline herpesvirus infection in culture

“…Reactivated virus travels down those same neural axons to infect similar tissues to those that were originally infected, resulting in acute, recurrent, or chronic sequelae at those sites [2-5]. The alphaherpesvirus feline herpesvirus type-1 (FHV-1), serologically detectable in 72-97% of domestic felidae [6-8], is typically transmitted via the respiratory route. The virus usually establishes latency in the trigeminal ganglia, and reactivation can result in keratitis, conjunctivitis, dermatitis, and potentially blindness in affected veterinary patients [9].…”