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Association between Feline Immunodeficiency Virus Antibodies and Host Characteristics in Finnish Cats

Samband melian förekomst av antikroppar mot FIV och värdkarakteristika hos kattor i Finland

Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica volume 33, pages 325–334 (1992)Cite this article

Abstract

Toward the end of 1989 the largest private veterinary laboratory in Finland (Vet/lab) began using a commercial combined ELISA test for Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) antibodies and Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV) antigens (Cite ComboR). The overall proportion of FIV seropositive feline samples was 5% during the 22 month study period. The number of tests performed increased slowly while the positive test results decreased with time (7% in 1990 and 4% in 1991). The decrease in prevalence was assumed to reflect a change in the sample population rather than an actual change in the general cat population. There were more symptomatic and domestic cats tested in 1990 than 1991. The lower-risk groups in the second year of the study may simply be an indication that the cat owners became more aware of FIV and the motivation to send samples switched from the veterinarian’s interest to diagnose the disease in a symptomatic cat to the owner’s interest to survey their cats for possible FIV infection. In a multivariable analysis, breed, symptoms, age and sex were associated with the risk of FIV seropositivity The risk increased faster with age in males than in females (i.e., the age effect was not constant between sexes). The cats with symptoms had a higher risk than those without symptoms and non-purebred cats were at a higher risk than purebred cats. FeLV infection was not associated with FIV.

Sammandrag

Finlands största veterinärkliniska laboratorium (Vetlab) som specialiserat sig på diagnostik av sällskapsdjur, har sedan slutet av år 1989 utför ett serologiskt test med ett kombinerat kommersiellt FIV -antikropps och FeLV antigen ELISA-test (CitecomboR). Vid en retrospektiv flervariabelanalys av dessa data som omfattar 22 månaders material, konstateras att FIV -ELISA test-resultaten är beroende av djurets alder, kön, ras och hälsotillstånd. Dessutom konstaterades att ålder och kön tillsammans påverkar testresultatet. FIV och FeLV resultaten visade sig vara statistiskt uberoende av varann. Materialet visar att tyngdpunkten för intresset för testet haller på att förflytta sig från veterinärens diagnostik till djurägarens intresse för sällskapsdjurets hälsotillstånd. Denna trend har medfört att ett mindre antal FIV_utsatta undergrupper har deltagit testet och detta kommer möjligen i längden att minska prevalensen av sjukdomsförekomsten i kliniskt material.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Anatomy and Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Helsinki and Vetlab, P. O. Box. 6, SF-00581, Tampere, Finland

    A. Sukura, Y. T. Gröhn, J. Junttila & T. Palolahti

  2. Department of Clinical Sciences, New York State College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, USA

    A. Sukura, Y. T. Gröhn, J. Junttila & T. Palolahti

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  1. A. Sukura
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  4. T. Palolahti
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Sukura, A., Gröhn, Y.T., Junttila, J. et al. Association between Feline Immunodeficiency Virus Antibodies and Host Characteristics in Finnish Cats. Acta Vet Scand 33, 325–334 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03547298

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Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica

ISSN: 1751-0147