title: Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infection in cats at necropsy: a serological study.
abstract: Sera collected post mortem during a 6-month period from cats were tested for feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV)-specific antibodies by (1) an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), (2) an indirect peroxidase-based immunocytological test (IP), (3) a Western immunoblotting (WB) method with FIV-infected cell lysates, and (4) a WB method with purified viral antigen. All four methods were capable of detecting FIV-specific antibodies in haemolysed sera. However, the ELISA showed the lowest "positive predictive value" (PVpos = 22%) followed by the IP (PVpos 50-60%). Serum was FIV antibody-positive in 6% (15/255) of all cats examined. The mean age of seropositive cats was 9 years (4 years among seronegative cases) and the male-to-female ratio in such cats was 1.8 to 1 (overall ratio 0.8 to 1). Forty per cent of the seropositive cats were in the final phase of acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Feline leukaemia virus (FeLV) predominated among viral co-infections. It was concluded that (1) a combination of the IP and WB reliably detected FIV-specific antibodies in sera collected post mortem, and (2) at post-mortem examination, cats from high-risk groups (male, > 5 years old, hypercellular bone marrow) were frequently infected with FIV.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Giessen, Germany.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Holznagel
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lutz
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Steinhauer
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reinacher
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D001823:Body Composition / Q000276:immunology; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D002415:Cats; D002423:Cause of Death; D002458:Cell Fractionation; D002460:Cell Line; D016181:Feline Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D016089:Immunodeficiency Virus, Feline / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005256:Leukemia Virus, Feline / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D012192:Retroviridae Infections / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014412:Tumor Virus Infections / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral