Serologic Survey of the Feline Immunodeficiency-Virus Antibody, the Feline Leukemia-Virus Antigen, and the Feline Coronavirus Antibody in Domestic Cats

Studies were made of the feline immunodeficiency-virus (FIV) antibody, the feline leukemia-virus (FeLV) antigen, and the feline coronavirus (FCoV) antibody in Japanese domestic cats. In cases in which pleural and peritoneal exudates led to suspicion of feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), 26.3% of the examined animals were positive for FIV and 36.8% were positive for FeLV. In cases of upper respiratory diseases, 35.7% were positive for FIV and 21.4% for FeLV. The values were higher than those for clinically healthy cats: 9.3% positive for FIV and 8.1% positive for FeLV. These findings suggest that FIV and FeLV infections may contribute to the appearance of FIP and respiratory infections. The percentage of cats positive for FCoV (47.7%) was much higher than those for FIV and FeLV in healthy cats. This suggests that FCoV is highly contagious. The extremely high prevalence of FeLV (66.7%) in anemic cats indicates that FeLV tests are indispensable diagnostic tools in dealing with cats developing anemia.