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In this study, 26 blood samples were collected from 25 healthy cats and one cat with clinical signs suggestive of feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), namely, fever, weight loss, enlarged abdomen, and ascites. Blood samples were tested for feline coronavirus (FCoV) messenger RNA (mRNA) by an reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay which has previously been described to have a high specificity in the diagnosis of clinical FIP [Simons AF, Vennema H, Rofina JE, Pol JM, Horzinek MC, Rottier PJM, Egberink HF (2005) A mRNA PCR for the diagnosis of feline infectious peritonitis. Journal of Virological Methods124, 111-116]. Overall we found 14 (54%) of the cats were positive for FCoV including the cat with clinical disease, but the high rate of positivity among healthy cats suggested a poor specificity for the clinical diagnosis of FIP among these cats. It was observed that the positivity rate was highest in cats aged between 6 months-1 year old. Our findings suggest that FCoVs may be present in the blood samples from healthy cats as well as cats with clinical FIP.

The equid herpesvirus 2 (EHV-2) and 5 (EHV-5), identified agents of respiratory infections and keratoconjunctivitis cases in some equids, comprise a high degree of antigenic heterogeneity. Prevalence and genetic characterization of EHV-2 and EHV-5 strains from Turkey were investigated in this study. A total of 73 nasal swabs and 54 blood specimens were sampled from horses with respiratory tract diseases characterized by mucopurulent nasal discharge and occasional coughing. Overall, EHV-2- and EHV-5-specific DNA amplicons were obtained from 19.2% (14/73) and 21.9% (16/73) of horses tested by multiplex nested PCR. Sequences of EHV-2 and EHV-5 glycoprotein B (gB) gene were used in a phylogenetic analysis that included six EHV-2 and three EHV-5 isolates, which showed that the Turkish EHV-2 and EHV-5 strains have marked sequence divergence from European strains and from each other. Turkish EHV-2 isolates were divided into two distinct subdivisions, and a few isolates were located on a separate branch. This study provides the first epidemiological and phylogenetical report about EHV-2 and EHV-5 infections in Turkey.

To determine why serum from small ruminants infected with ruminant pestiviruses reacted positively to classical swine fever virus (CSFV)–specific diagnostic tests, we analyzed 2 pestiviruses from Turkey. They differed genetically and antigenically from known Pestivirus species and were closely related to CSFV. Cross-reactions would interfere with classical swine fever diagnosis in pigs.