Molecular Diagnosis, Risk factors and Phylogenetic Analysis of Feline Panleukopenia Virus in Cats in Duhok Province, Iraq

Abstract

HE STUDY aimed to determine the prevalence of feline panleukopenia virus (FPV) in cats in Duhok province-Iraq, using the conventional polymerase chain reaction (c-PCR) technique, evaluate some of the risk factors linked with the prevalence of FPV, and investigate the phylogenetic analysis of FPV detected in the study. Different samples (blood samples, fecal, ocular, and oral swabs) were randomly obtained from 100 cats with different lifestyles, genders, ages, breeds, immune status, health status, pregnancy state, regions, and seasons. Results showed that the overall prevalence of FPV in cats in Duhok province was 70/100 (70%), with no significant difference in the prevalence of virus in various types of samples. The significant risk factors associated with a higher prevalence of FPV recording in stray cats, less than and equal to 1year olds, short hair, nonvaccinated, pregnant cats, the Duhok region, and the autumn and winter seasons. The phylogenetic analysis for 15 local sequences of the VP2 gene that were deposited in the NCBI GenBank under the accession numbers (OQ102246.1-OQ102255.1, and OQ708628.1-OQ708632.1), with highly related (99.29%-100% identity) to other sequences that registered in the GenBank from different countries, including China, Turkey, Thailand, and South Korea. In conclusion; FPV is widespread in Duhok province-Iraq, certain risk factors associated with the higher prevalence of FPV, and the phylogenetic analysis of FPV sequences is important for strategic control of the infection in the study regions.