Prevalence and risk factors of feline leukaemia virus and feline immunodeficiency virus in peninsular Malaysia

Abstract

BackgroundFeline leukaemia virus (FeLV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) are major causes of morbidity and mortality in domestic and wild felids. Despite the clinical importance of feline retroviruses and the growing interest in cats as pets, information about FeLV and FIV in Malaysia is presently insufficient to properly advise veterinarians and pet owners. A cross-sectional study was carried out from January 2010 to December 2010 to determine the prevalence and risk factors associated with FeLV and FIV among domestic cats in peninsular Malaysia. Plasma samples were harvested from the blood of 368 domestic cats and screened for evidence of FeLV p27 antigen and FIV antibodies, using an immunochromatographic kit. Additionally, data on cat demographics and health were collected using a structured questionnaire, and were evaluated as potential risk factors for FeLV or FIV status.ResultsOf the 368 cats that were evaluated in this study, 12.2% (45/368; 95% CI = 8.88 - 15.58) were positive for FeLV p27 antigen, 31.3%, (115/368; 95% CI = 26.51 - 35.99) were seropositive to FIV antibodies, and 4.3% (16/368; 95% CI = 2.27 - 6.43) had evidence of both viruses. Factors found to significantly increase the risk for FeLV seropositivity include sex, age, behaviour, sickness, and living in a multi-cat household. Seropositive response to FIV was significantly associated with sex, neuter status, age, behaviour, and health status.ConclusionsThe present study indicates that FeLV and FIV are common among domestic cats in peninsular Malaysia, and that factors related to cat demographics and health such as age, sex, behaviour, health status and type of household are important predictors for seropositive status to FeLV or FIV in peninsular Malaysia. High prevalence of FeLV or FIV observed in our study is of concern, in view of the immunosuppressive potentials of the two pathogens. Specific measures for control and prevention such as screening and routine vaccination are needed to ensure that FeLV and FIV are controlled in the cat population of peninsular Malaysia.

A survey of feline leukaemia virus infection of domestic cats from selected areas in Harare, Zimbabwe

“…This information is crucial for control of FeLV infection in domestic cats as there is currently no data on its prevalence in Zimbabwe. The FeLV p27 antigen in blood samples in this study (41%) is higher than those from both developing (Bande et al 2012;De Almeida et al 2012) and developed (Bandecchi et al 2006;Gabor et al 2001;Lee et al 2002;Little et al 2009) countries in other regions where moderate (10% -20%) to low (< 10%) prevalences have been reported. The observed data may be influenced to an extent by test parameters, a small sample size and sampling bias -as cats presented to veterinary clinics only may not be representative of other apparently healthy cats that did not visit the clinics.…”

“…The factors that predispose cats to FeLV infection include young age, intact male cats, having access to outdoor life and living in multicat houses (Bande et al 2012). Although evidence of FeLV infection in domestic cats (Felis domesticus) has been documented in many regions of the world, there is a lack of information about its prevalence in most parts of Africa, except for reports from Nigeria and South Africa (Bobade, Nash & Rogerson 1988;Schoeman et al 2001;Schoeman et al 2005).…”

“…Feline leukaemia virus (FeLV), a retrovirus belonging to the family Retroviridae, subfamily Orthoretrovirinae, genus Gammaretrovirus, is believed to cause widespread infections in cats throughout the world; prevalences of between 1% and 20% have been reported from all the major continents (Bande et al 2012;Bandecchi et al 2006;Gabor et al 2001;Hartmann 2012;Hosie, Robertson & Jarrett 1989;Levy et al 2006). The virus may be transmitted vertically in utero or horizontally (by secretions and excretions), and young kittens are more susceptible than adults (Aiello & Mays 2011).…”

Feline immunodeficiency virus and feline leukemia virus: frequency and associated factors in cats in northeastern Brazil

“…The distribution of animals infected with these retroviruses varies considerably depending on the geographic region, the feline population evaluated, and the diagnostic method chosen (Luria et al, 2004;Levy et al, 2008;Gleich et al, 2009). This explains the variations of seroprevalence from 2.5 to 31.3% for FIV and from 2.3 to 30.4% for FeLV that have been found in studies from different parts of the world (Arjona et al, 2000;Levy et al, 2006;Bande et al, 2012). In Brazil, the seroprevalence ranges from 5.6 to 16.7% for FIV and from 0.33 to 32.5% for FeLV (Teixeira et al, 2007;Macieira et al, 2008;Sobrinho et al, 2011) and, additionally, the infection rates found using molecular tests have ranged from 2 to 15.7% for FIV and from 0.5 to 47.5% for FeLV (Coelho et al, 2011;Marçola, 2011;Silva et al, 2014).…”

Central and peripheral reservoirs of feline immunodeficiency virus in cats: a review

“…FIV prevalence varies by geographic region with the incidence in North America reported at 2.5 % (2006), 5.4 % in Bangkok, Thailand (2014), 9.5 % in Ankara, Turkey (2013), 23.2 % in Japan (2008) and 31.1 % in peninsular Malaysia (2012), equating to millions of FIVinfected animals worldwide [1][2][3][4][5].…”