Identification of a novel parvovirus in domestic cats.

Highlights • A novel protoparvovirus (bufavirus) was identified in cats. • The feline bufavirus was more common in respiratory samples of juvenile cats. • The feline bufavirus was highly similar to a canine bufavirus. • The carnivore bufaviruses were phylogenetically related to primate bufaviruses. • Carnivore bufaviruses are genetically distinct from feline/canine protoparvovirus-1. Abstract A novel protoparvovirus species was identified in domestic cats. The virus was distantly related to the well-known feline (feline panleukopenia virus) and canine (canine parvovirus type 2) parvoviruses, sharing low nucleotide identities in the capsid protein 2 (less than 43%). The virus was genetically similar (100% at the nucleotide level) to a newly identified canine protoparvovirus, genetically related to human bufaviruses. The feline bufavirus appeared as a common element of the feline virome, especially in juvenile cats, with an overall prevalence of 9.2%. The virus was more common in respiratory samples (9.5%–12.2%) than in enteric samples of cats (2.2%). The role of bufaviruses in the etiology of feline respiratory disease complex, either as a primary or a secondary agents, should be defined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]