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Acta sci. vet. (Impr.); 41: Pub. 1166, 2013. tab

Artigo em Inglês | VETINDEX | ID: biblio-1371085

Resumo

Background: Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV) and Feline Immunodefi ciency Virus (FIV) are among the most important pathogens of cats. Despite being common world-wide, data on the prevalence of these viruses in western Turkey are very limited in the literature. The objective of this study was to investigate the presence and the prevalence of the FIV and FeLV infections in the house and stray cats in the Aegean region of western Turkey. Effects of the risk factors such as age, gender, and lifestyle on the prevalence of the infections as well as the relationship between the general health status of the animals and infection rates were investigated. Materials, Methods & Results: Blood samples were taken from the house and stray cats brought to the clinics of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the Adnan Menderes University or the private veterinary clinics in the provinces of Aydin and Izmir, Turkey, during the period of the study from May 2009 to June 2010. The serum samples were tested using commercially available Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) kits to detect p27 antigen of FeLV, neutralizing antibodies against the gp70 protein of the FeLV, and antibodies against p17 and p24 antigens of FIV. Two hundred and ten cats were tested for FeLV antigen and FIV-specific antibodies whereas 172 cats were tested for antibodies against FeLV. Overall positivity rates for the FeLV antigen, antibodies against FeLV, and antibodies against FIV were 7.6% (16/210), 58.1% (100/172), and 19.5% (41/210), respectively. Seropositivity rates for antibodies against FeLV and FIV changed significantly from one province to another (P < 0.05). Serositivity for the antibodies against FIV were higher in male than the female animals (P < 0.05) and in house than the stray cats (P < 0.001). Animals with clinical symptoms when brought to the clinic had significantly higher FeLV antigen and the antibody titers against FIV than the apparently healthy animals (P < 0.001). Seropositivity for antibodies against FIV but not the rates of positivity for FeLV antigen and antibodies against FeLV were influenced by the age of the animal. Discussion: The results obtained in this study suggested that the FeLV and FIV infections were relatively common in western Turkey. The statistically signifi cant risk factors for the FIV infection included the province of residence, gender, life style, health status and age. Since prevalence of the FIV infection may significantly vary among Turkey's different geographical regions, prevalence studies that maybe important in the combat of the infections should be carried out independently in each province. Only province of residence and health status were risk for factors for the FeLV infections. Antibodies against FIV were more prevalent in the cats that were male, older than three years of age, lived in houses, and had clinical symptoms when brought to the clinics. The animals that presented with clinical symptoms when brought to the clinic had higher rates of positivity for FeLV antigen and FIV-specific antibodies (P < 0.01). These results suggest that sick animals are at higher risk for infection with these viruses and that the viruses may be involved in the aetiology of a variety of diseases. Analysis of the clinical findings, test results and reports in the literature suggest that these infections may present with various clinical symptoms and should be taken into careful consideration for differential diagnosis of animals in the clinic.

Biblioteca responsável: BR68.1