Quality of different in-clinic test systems for feline immunodeficiency virus and feline leukaemia virus infection

Abstract

Many new diagnostic in-house tests for identification of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline leukaemia virus (FeLV) infection have been licensed for use in veterinary practice, and the question of the relative merits of these kits has prompted comparative studies. This study was designed to define the strengths and weaknesses of seven FIV and eight FeLV tests that are commercially available. In this study, 536 serum samples from randomly selected cats were tested. Those samples reacting FIV-positive in at least one of the tests were confirmed by Western blot, and those reacting FeLV-positive were confirmed by virus isolation. In addition, a random selection of samples testing negative in all test systems was re-tested by Western blot (100 samples) and by virus isolation (81 samples). Specificity, sensitivity, positive and negative predictive values of each test and the quality of the results were compared.

Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), feline leukaemia virus (FeLV) and Leishmania sp. in domestic cats in the Midwest of Brazil

“…The prevalence for FIV infection was higher than FeLV, and those observed in other regions, but no factor was associated with the infection by FIV and FeLV in this study. performing in-clinic test, while for FeLV, the positive predictive value was 73.5% (Hartmann et al 2007). However, molecular methods are more sensitive and specific to detect the pathogen during the first 2-4 weeks post-infection, as well as during the terminal stages of infection by FIV therefore the antibody response is generally low (Wilkes et al 2015).…”

Dual-Emission Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) Real-Time PCR Differentiates Feline Immunodeficiency Virus Subtypes and Discriminates Infected from Vaccinated Cats

“…FIV serology such as Western blot analysis detects antibodies recognizing viral structural proteins and is considered the "gold standard" for FIV diagnosis (7,8,9,11). One recent challenge in FIV diagnostics is that a veterinarian cannot rely on the presence of antibody as an indicator of infection status in vaccinated cats (11).…”

ELISA r-p24: optimization and validation of an enzyme immunoassay for the diagnosis of Feline Immunodeficiency Virus infections

“…Hartmann et al (2007) compared the quality of seven commercially available serological tests (three immunoenzymatic and four immunochromatographic) for this diagnosis. These assays detect antibodies against different FIV viral proteins (GP40, p24 and/or p15) and showed high sensitivity (92 to 100%) and specificity (99 to 100%).…”