The first study on clinicopathological changes in cats with feline infectious peritonitis with and without retrovirus coinfection

Vet World Vol.16 April-2023 Article-20

Research Article

Veterinary World, 16(4): 820-827

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2023.820-827

Wassamon Moyadee^1,2,3, Natdaroon Chiteafea³, Supansa Tuanthap⁴, Kiattawee Choowongkomon⁵, Sittiruk Roytrakul⁶, Oumaporn Rungsuriyawiboon⁷, Chaiwat Boonkaewwan⁸, Natthasit Tansakul⁹, Amonpun Rattanasrisomporn¹⁰, and Jatuporn Rattanasrisomporn^1,2,3

1. Center for Advanced Studies for Agriculture and Food, Institute for Advanced Studies, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand.
2. Graduate Program in Animal Health and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand.
3. Department of Companion Animal Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand.
4. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Rajamangala University of Technology Tawan-ok, Chonburi, Thailand.
5. Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand.
6. Functional Proteomics Technology Laboratory, Functional Ingredients and Food Innovation Research Group, National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, National Science and Technology for Development Agency, Pathum Thani, Thailand.
7. Department of Veterinary Technology, Faculty of Veterinary Technology, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand.
8. Akkhraratchakumari Veterinary College, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand.
9. Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand.
10. Interdisciplinary of Genetic Engineering and Bioinformatics, Graduate School, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand.

Background and Aim: Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) is an infectious, immune-mediated, and fatal disease in cats caused by a mutant feline coronavirus (FCoV) infection. Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline leukemia virus (FeLV) are two common retroviruses that play a role in reducing feline immune function with opportunistic retrovirus infection being a predisposing factor for the development of FIP. This study aimed to evaluate the clinicopathological parameters of FIP in cats with and without retrovirus coinfection.

Materials and Methods: In total, 62 cats presenting with pleural and/or peritoneal effusion at the Kasetsart University Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand, were selected for the study. Effusion samples were collected and a reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay was performed on all samples using the 3' untranslated region primer. All FCoV-positive cats were tested for retrovirus infection using a commercial kit (Witness FeLV-FIV [Zoetis]; United States). Clinical signs, hematological, and biochemical parameters of these cats were investigated and grouped.

Results: Of the 62 cats with pleural and/or peritoneal effusion, FCoV was detected in 32, of which 21 were highly suspicious for FIP. The cats suspected of FIP were divided into three subgroups following viral detection. A total of 14 had only FCoV infection (Group A), four had FCoV and FeLV infection (Group B), and three had FCoV, FeLV, and FIV infection (Group C). Of the rest, 11 had definitive diagnoses, which included three being FCoV and FeLV-positive (Group D), and eight were retrovirus-negative (Group E). Mild anemia and lymphopenia were found in cats infected with these three viruses. An albumin-to-globulin ratio lower than 0.5 was found in FIP cats with only FCoV infection.

Conclusion: Typically, cats with clinical effusion and FIP, with and without retrovirus coinfection, had similar hematological findings. Clinical signs, blood parameters, fluid analysis with cytological assessment, and RT-PCR assays could identify better criteria to diagnose FIP with and without retrovirus coinfection. Keywords: effusion, feline leukemia virus, feline infectious peritonitis, feline immunodeficiency virus, reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction.

Keywords: effusion, feline leukemia virus, feline infectious peritonitis, feline immunodeficiency virus, reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction.

How to cite this article: Moyadee W, Chiteafea N, Tuanthap S, Choowongkomon K, Roytrakul S, Rungsuriyawiboon O, Boonkaewwan C, Tansakul N, Rattanasrisomporn A, and Rattanasrisomporn J (2023) The first study on clinicopathological changes in cats with feline infectious peritonitis with and without retrovirus coinfection, Veterinary World, 16(4): 820-827.

Received: 15-11-2022 Accepted: 15-03-2023 Published online: 20-04-2023

Corresponding author: E-mail: fvetjpn@ku.ac.th

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2023.820-827

Copyright: Moyadee, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.