title: Prevalence of feline coronavirus in two cat populations in Malaysia.
abstract: The prevalence of feline coronavirus (FCoV) was studied in two catteries in Malaysia. Rectal swabs or faecal samples were collected from a total of 44 clinically healthy Persian purebred and mix-breed cats. RNA extracted from the faecal material was subjected to a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using primers flanking for a conserved region of the virus genome. The overall prevalence of FCoV infection was 84% and the infection rate was higher in Persian purebred cats (96%) than mix-breed cats (70%). There was no significant association between the age or gender of tested cats and shedding the virus. This study is the first PCR-based survey for FCoV in Malaysia and showed the ubiquitous presence of FCoV in Malaysian cat colonies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Pathology and Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Saeed
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sharif
authors.forename: Siti S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Arshad
authors.forename: Mohd
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hair-Bejo
authors.forename: Abdul R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Omar
authors.forename: Nazariah A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Zeenathul
authors.forename: Mohd A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Hafidz
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D002415:Cats; D018352:Coronavirus Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D016765:Coronavirus, Feline / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005243:Feces / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D008296:Malaysia / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral