Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Feb;14(2):171-6.
doi: 10.1177/1098612X11429644.

Quarantine protects Falkland Islands (Malvinas) cats from feline coronavirus infection

Diane D Addie  1 , Mike McDonald, Stéphane Audhuy, Paul Burr, Jonathan Hollins, Rémi Kovacic, Hans Lutz, Zoe Luxton, Shlomit Mazar, Marina L Meli
Affiliations

Quarantine protects Falkland Islands (Malvinas) cats from feline coronavirus infection

Diane D Addie et al. J Feline Med Surg. 2012 Feb.

Abstract

Feline coronavirus (FCoV) causes feline infectious peritonitis (FIP). Since 2002, when 20 cats on the Falkland Islands were found to be FCoV seronegative, only seronegative cats could be imported. Between 2005-2007, 95 pet and 10 feral cats tested negative by indirect immunofluorescence antibody (IFA) analysis using two strains of type II FCoV, two transmissible gastroenteritis virus assays, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and rapid immunomigration test. Twenty-four samples (23%) showed non-specific fluorescence, mostly attributable to anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA). The reason for ANA was unclear: reactive samples were negative for Erhlichia canis antibodies; seven were feline immunodeficiency virus positive, but 15 were negative. It was not possible to determine retrospectively whether the cats had autoimmune disease, hyperthyroidism treatment, or recent vaccination which may also cause ANA. The FCoV/ FIP-free status of the Falkland Islands cats should be maintained by FCoV testing incoming cats. However, ANA can complicate interpretation of IFA tests.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Age distribution of cats sampled. The ages of 20 (19%) cats were unknown, 30 cats (28.6%) were a year of age or under, 28 (26.7%) were over 10 years old
Figure 2
Figure 2
A comparison of antibody titres against FHV and FPV in samples without and with non-specific reactions. Comparison of FHV and FPV antibody titres in 16 samples which had a non-specific fluorescence result of 100 or more (shown as ≥ 100 on the graph) with 23 samples with no non-specific fluorescence (labelled Neg): mean FHV and FPV antibody titres were slightly lower in the non-specific fluorescence group than the Neg group, however, there was no significant difference (P = 0.77 for FHV; P = 0.73 for FPV). If recent vaccination was the cause of non-specific fluorescence in some of the samples, it was not discernable by looking at antibody titres. Neg = no non-specific immunofluorescence on TGEV IFA test. ≥100 = high non-specific immunofluorescence on TGEV IFA test
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Matias R, Catry P. The diet of feral cats at New Island, Falkland Islands, and impact on breeding seabirds. Polar Biology 2008; 31: 609–1.
    1. Lawrence K. Prevalence of FeLV and antibodies to FIV and FCoV in Falkland Islands cats. Vet Rec 2002; 151: 711–2. - PubMed
    1. Addie DD, Jarrett O. Feline coronavirus antibodies in cats. Vet Rec 1992; 131: 202–3. - PubMed
    1. Cave TA, Golder MC, Simpson J, Addie DD. Risk factors for feline coronavirus seropositivity in cats relinquished to a UK rescue charity. J Feline Med Surg 2004; 6: 53–8. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bell ET, Toribio JA, White JD, Malik R, Norris JM. Seroprevalence study of feline coronavirus in owned and feral cats in Sydney, Australia. Aust Vet J 2006; 84: 74–81. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

Substances

LinkOut - more resources