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Background Bicyclam derivatives inhibit feline immunodeficiency virus ( FIV) replication through selective blockage of chemokine receptor CXCR4. Hypothesis/Objectives CXCR4 antagonist plerixafor ( AMD3100, 1,1′-bis-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradekan) alone or combination with adefovir ( PMEA, 9-(2-phosphonylmethoxyethyl)adenine) safe and effective for treating FIV-infected cats. Animals Forty naturally FIV-infected, privately owned cats. Materials and Methods Prospective, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial. Cats randomly classified into 4 treatment groups. Received AMD3100, PMEA, AMD3100 in combination with PMEA, or placebo for 6 weeks. Clinical and laboratory parameters, including CD4+ and CD8+ cell counts, FIV proviral and viral load measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction ( qPCR) evaluated. Additionally, FIV isolates from cats treated with AMD3100 tested for drug resistance. Results FIV-infected cats treated with AMD3100 caused significant decrease in proviral load compared to placebo group (2.3 ± 3.8% to 1.9 ± 3.1%, of blood lymphocytes P < .05), but did not lead to improvement of clinical or immunological variables; it caused a decrease in serum magnesium concentration without clinical signs. No development of resistance of FIV isolates to AMD3100 found during treatment period. PMEA administration improved stomatitis (stomatitis score [degree 1 - 100] PMEA group: 23 ± 19 to 11 ± 10, P < .001; AMD3100 + PMEA group: 12 ± 17 to 3 ± 5, P < .05), but did not decrease proviral or viral load and caused anemia (RBC [×106/μL] PMEA group: 9.07 ± 1.60 to 6.22 ± 2.16, P < .05; AMD3100 ± PMEA group: 8.80 ± 1.23 to 5.84 ± 1.58, P < .001). Conclusions and Clinical Importance Administration of CXCR4 antagonists, as AMD3100, can induce reduction of proviral load and may represent viable treatment of FIV-infected cats. Combination treatment with PMEA not recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A full history of the management practices and the prevalence of upper respiratory tract disease (URTD) at 218 rescue shelters, breeding establishments and private households with five or more cats was recorded. Oropharyngeal and conjunctival swabs and blood samples were taken from 1748 cats. The prevalences of feline herpesvirus (FHV), feline calicivirus (FCV), Chlamydophila felis and Bordetella bronchiseptica were determined by PCR on swab samples. An ELISA was applied to determine the prevalence of antibodies to B bronchiseptica. The rates of detection by PCR of each pathogen in the cats in catteries with and without ongoing URTD were, respectively, FHV 16 per cent and 8 per cent; FCV 47 per cent and 29 per cent; C felis 10 per cent and 3 per cent and B bronchiseptica 5 per cent and 1-3 per cent the seroprevalences of B bronchiseptica were 61 per cent and 41 per cent, respectively. There was evidence that FHV, FCV and B bronchiseptica played a role in URTD. The risk factors associated with the disease were less than excellent hygiene, contact with dogs with URTD, and larger numbers of cats in the cattery or household. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Six rapid tests for the diagnosis of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline leukaemia virus (FeLv) infections which have recently been introduced in Europe for use in small animal practice were compared. Eight hundred serum samples were tested and those reacting Fv-positive in at least one of the tests were confirmed by Western blot, and those reacting FeLV-positive were confirmed by virus isolation. The specificity and sensitivity of each test and the quality of the results produced were compared. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this study the eyes of 15 cats in the terminal stage of FIV infection were examined. The findings were compared to those in cats, which were euthanized because of other infectious diseases or for non-infectious reasons. Thirteen FIV-infected cats showed an anterior uveitis by means of light microscopy. No accumulation of retinal lesions were found in FIV-infected cats compared to the other cats examined. Additionally, there were no indications of lesions caused by opportunistic infections. In the posterior segments of the eyes, immunohistochemical examinations proved the plasma proteins C3 and IgG to be predominantly intravascular. The eyes of 11 serologically FIV-positive cats were available for immunohistochemical examination. In all 11 cats at least one of the plasma proteins C3 or IgG could be detected in the extravascular tissue of the anterior uvea. The extravascular presence of plasma proteins within the tissue seemed to be caused by an increased permeability of the vessels due to inflammation. Furthermore, the similar extravascular distribution pattern of IgG and complement component C3 in four cases indicated that immune complexes may play a role in the anterior uveitis of FIV-infected cats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It may be concluded that the specificity of FTLV antibody found by e. g. IF or ELISA can be validated using Western blotting; the conspicuous signals at the 24k and 15k positions provide the definite proof. Although cross reactions appear to exist with e. g. the transmembrane protein of FeLV these are unidirectional and do not affect the reliability of the methods. Zusammenfassung Die Spezifität des serologischen Nachweises einer Infektion mit dem Felinen T-lymphotropen Lentivirus Die Spezifität des Nachweises von Antikörpern gegen das Feline T-lymphotrope Lentivirus mit Hilfe der Immunofluoreszenz oder des ELISA kann durch 'Western' Immunoblotting geprüft werden. Die auffälligen Banden in den Positionen 24 000 und 15 000 sind für eine Infektion beweisend. Obwohl Kreuzreaktionen z. B. mit dem Transmembranprotein des FeLV zu bestehen scheinen, beeinträchtigen diese nicht die Verläßlichkeit der Methoden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A poxvirus infection in a domestic cat and transmission to a human contact have recently been reported. The isolation and identification of the virus from the cat and the owner are described. The viruses isolated show features of a 'cowpox' virus. Zusammenfassung Isolierung und Identifizierung eines Pockenvirus von einer Hauskatze und einer Kontaktperson Über eine Pockeninfektion bei einer Hauskatze und die Übertragung auf einen Menschen durch Kontakt wurde kürzlich berichtet. Die Isolierung und Identifizierung des Virus aus der Katze und dem Besitzer werden beschrieben. Die isolierten Viren zeigen die Merkmale des 'Kuhpocken-Virus'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A putative bovine respiratory torovirus (BRTV) was propagated in bovine fetal diploid lung and human colonic tumour cells, and fringed pleomorphic particles were detected in the culture supernatants by electron microscopy. Antisera directed against a bovine (Breda strain) and equine (Berne strain) torovirus failed to react with BRTV-infected cells in immunofluorescence assays and did not neutralise BRTV. No toroviral RNA was found in the supernatants of infected cells by means of a reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction with torovirus-specific primers. On the other hand, bovine coronavirus-specific antisera and monoclonal antibodies did neutralise the cytopathic effects, and coronaviral antigen was detected in the cultures by immunofluorescence. Furthermore, bovine coronavirus RNA was detected in the supernatants of BRTV-infected cells after nucleic acid amplification. It is concluded that the cytopathic BRTV isolate is a coronavirus. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]