Prevalence of feline leukemia virus and feline immunodeficiency virus in cats from southern Italy: a 10-year cross-sectional study

Giovanna Fusco; Luisa Marati; Annamaria Pugliese; Martina Levante; Gianmarco Ferrara; Esterina de Carlo; Maria Grazia Amoroso; Serena Montagnaro

doi:10.3389/fvets.2023.1260081

Prevalence of feline leukemia virus and feline immunodeficiency virus in cats from southern Italy: a 10-year cross-sectional study

Front Vet Sci. 2023 Nov 6:10:1260081. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2023.1260081. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Giovanna Fusco¹, Luisa Marati¹, Annamaria Pugliese¹, Martina Levante¹, Gianmarco Ferrara², Esterina de Carlo¹, Maria Grazia Amoroso¹, Serena Montagnaro²

Affiliations

¹ Unit of Virology, Department of Animal Health, Zooprofilactic Institute of Southern Italy, Portici, Italy.
² Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples, Italy.

Abstract

Introduction: Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline leukemia virus (FeLV) are well-known retroviruses causing important infections in domestic cats worldwide. The goal of this study was to determine the prevalence of FeLV and FIV infections in cat living indoor and outdoor in southern Italy.

Methods: The survey was conducted on 1322 stray and owned cats from the regions of Campania, Basilicata, and Calabria. It was carried out over a 10-year period to obtain a more realistic picture of the prevalence of these retroviral diseases in the country. FIV and FeLV status was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using a commercial kit (SNAP Combo Plus FeLV/FIV, IDEXX). Risk factors were analysed by logistic regression.

Results and discussion: The results showed that 101/1322 (7.64%) cats were positive for FeLV antigen and 110/1322 (8.32%) cats were positive for FIV antibody. Twenty-six of the 1322 cats (1.97%) were positive for both FIV and FeLV infection. Our results are similar to those published in recent studies in Europe. A statistically significant association (p < 0.05) was found between year, province, region, lifestyle and risk of FeLV infection. FIV positivity was instead statistically associated only with year and lifestyle.

Keywords: FIV; FeLV; cross-sectional study; feline retroviruses; southern Italy.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that no financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.