Prevalence of Feline Coronavirus Antibodies in Japanese Domestic Cats during the Past Decade

Abstract

AbSTRACT. From 2001From to 2010 Japanese cats were examined for feline coronavirus (FCoV) antibodies. The seroprevalence of purebreds (66.7%) was higher than that of random breds (31.2%). Seroprevalence increased greatly in purebreds by three months of age, while it did not fluctuate greatly in random breds with aging, indicating that cattery environments can contribute to FCoV epidemics. Purebreds from northern regions of Japan were likely to be seropositive (76.6% in Hokkaido, 80.0% in Tohoku), indicating cattery cats in cold climates might be more closely confined. Among purebreds, the American shorthair, Himalayan, Oriental, Persian, and Siamese showed low seroprevalence, while the American curl, Maine coon, Norwegian forest cat, ragdoll and Scottish fold showed high seroprevalence. There would also be breed-related differences in Japan similar to the previous studies in Australia.

Circulation and genetic diversity of Feline coronavirus type I andIIfrom clinically healthy andFIP‐suspected cats in China

“…In our study, the prevalence of FCoV was not significantly associated with sex, which is in agreement with several studies (Bell et al., ; Sharif et al., ; Taharaguchi, Soma, & Hara, ). On the contrary, several studies have shown that FCoV infection appeared to be significantly correlated with the male sex (Pesteanu‐Somogyi, Radzai, & Pressler, ; Worthing et al., ).…”

“…In our study, FCoV infection was significantly associated with young cats (aged <6 months). Other studies have reported that cats of ages ranging from 3 to 11 months exhibit a higher FCoV prevalence than those of other ages (Bell et al., ; Pedersen, ; Taharaguchi et al., ). However, FCoV infection in Australia and Malaysia was reported not to be associated with age (Bell et al., ; Sharif et al., ).…”

“…In Malaysia, the FCoV infection rate in Persian purebred cats (96.0%) was higher than that in the mixed‐breed cats (70.0%) (Sharif et al., ). In Japan, the prevalence of antibodies against FCoV in purebred cats (66.7%) was higher than that in random breeds (31.2%) (Taharaguchi et al., ). In our study, FCoV infection was significantly associated with young cats (aged <6 months).…”

A retrospective clinical and epidemiological study on feline coronavirus (FCoV) in cats in Istanbul, Turkey

“…This study shows that FCoV infections are widespread in cats from Istanbul and this is in agreement with other studies elsewhere (Sparkes et al, 1992;Pedersen et al, 2004;Pesteanu-Somogyi et al, 2006;Sharif et al, 2009;Taharaguchi et al, 2012;Paris et al, 2014). Moreover, FCoV seroprevalence increased in 2014 compared to previous years and this may suggest that FCoV infections are an increasing health problem in cats in Istanbul.…”

“…Worldwide the prevalence of FCoV infections may be up to 90% in multi-cat environments and 10-60% in household cats (Herrewegh et al, 1997;Pedersen et al, 2004;Bell et al, 2006;Addie et al, 2009;Sharif et al, 2009;Taharaguchi et al, 2012). Detection of FCoV antibodies in the early stage of infection can be useful to minimize the spread of FCoVs in a breeding cattery, multi-cat household and FCoV-free household (Cave et al, 2004;Dye et al, 2008;Drechsler et al, 2011).…”