ABSTRACT
Coinfection caused by bacteria, parasites, or viruses complicates almost all feline panleukopenia virus (FPV) infections. Pathogens that colonize the gastrointestinal tract, Clostridium perfingens, Clostridium piliforme, Cryptosporidium spp, Giardia spp, Tritrichomonas fetus, canine parvovirus type 2,Salmonella sp., feline coronavirus, feline bocavirus, and feline astrovirus were isolated in the presence of FPV infection. Complex mechanisms between viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and hosts contribute to the pathogenesis and severity of coinfection. Prompt and accurate diagnosis, vaccination precautions, and appropriate treatment play important roles in reducing morbidity and mortality. This article outlines the etiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment that can help veterinarians and pet owners improve their knowledge of managing the diseases.
ABSTRACT
Feline Astrovirus (FAstV), Feline Parvovirus(FPV) and Feline Enteric Coronavirus (FECoV) are important pathogens causing diarrhea in cats.In order to establish a molecular detection method which can differentiate the three pathogens in the same PCR system, an FAstV/FPV/FECoV triple PCR method was established with optimized primer concentrations and annealing temperature, and specificity, sensitivity and repeatability were tested. The results showed that the PCR method could only identify FAstV (320 bp), FPV (468 bp) and FECoV (664 bp) genes, while not other canine and feline related pathogens. The detection limits of FAstV, FPV and FECoV were 2x10~7 copy/L (7.1 pg/L),4.7x10~6 copy/L (2.4 pg/L) and 7x10~6 copy/L (5.1 pg/L) respectively. The established triple PCR method was used to detect 207 cat fecal samples collected in Chengdu from 2019 to 2020, including 141 diarrhea samples and 66 clinical health samples. The detection rates of FAstV, FPV and FECoV were 24.15% (50/207), 37.20% (77/207) and 15.46% (32/207) respectively, and the co-infection rates of FAstV/FPV, FPV/FECoV and FAstv/FECoV were 9.18%,6.28% and 6.28% respectively. In conclusion, the triple PCR method of FAstV/FPV/FECoV was successfully established, and could be applied for virus detection and epidemiological investigation.
ABSTRACT
In this study, a SYBR Green I-based real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was developed for the clinical diagnosis of feline astroviruses (FeAstVs). Specific primers were designed based on the conserved region of the FeAstV ORF1b gene. Experiments for specificity, sensitivity, and repeatability of the assay were carried out. In addition, the assay was evaluated using clinical samples. Specificity analysis indicated that the assay showed negative results with samples of Feline Parvovirus, Feline Herpesvirus, Feline Calicivirus, Feline Bocavirus, and Feline Coronavirus, indicating good specificity of the assay. Sensitivity analysis showed that the SYBR Green I-based real-time RT-PCR method could detect as low as 3.72 × 101 copies/µL of template, which is 100-fold more sensitive compared to the conventional RT-PCR. Both intra-assay and inter-assay variability were lower than 1 %, indicating good reproducibility. Furthermore, an analysis of 150 fecal samples showed that the positive detection rate of SYBR Green I-based real-time RT-PCR was higher than that of the conventional RT-PCR, indicating the high reliability of the method. The assay is cheap and effective. Therefore, it could provide support for the detection of FeAstV in large-scale clinical testing and epidemiological investigation.