Feline Leukemia Virus in Free-ranging Neotropical Wild Felids and in Domestic Cats Found Inside Protected Areas within Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

IF 1.2 4区农林科学 Q3 VETERINARY SCIENCES

Journal of Wildlife Diseases Pub Date : 2025-07-01 DOI:10.7589/JWD-D-24-00136

José Reck, Greice Zorzato Gonchoroski, Lauren Santos de Mello, Vinicius Proença da Silveira, Vagner Ricardo Lunge, Carlos Benhur Kasper, Márcia Jardim, Tatiane C Trigo

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Abstract

Feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) are retroviruses that cause severe diseases in domestic cats. Recently, they have emerged as a concern for wild felids. The aim of this study was to evaluate the exposure to feline retroviruses in free-ranging Neotropical wild felids from southern Brazil. A total of 48 road-killed wild felids belonging to three species were sampled: Geoffroy's cat (Leopardus geoffroyi), margay (Leopardus wiedii), and Southern tiger cat (Leopardus guttulus). In addition, 28 domestic cats found inside protected areas were investigated. Both the wild and domestic felids were tested for the presence of FeLV and FIV with lateral flow immunoassay (LFA) and molecular methods. Three wild felids (two Geoffroy's cats and one margay) were positive to FeLV by LFA (antigen), PCR (proviral DNA), and quantitative reverse-transcription PCR (viral RNA). From the 28 free-roaming domestic cats sampled inside protected areas, 10 (35%) were positive for FeLV. None of the domestic or wild felids were positive for FIV. In addition to the occurrence of FeLV in two species of free-ranging Neotropical felids, FeLV-positive domestic cats appear to be relatively common in protected areas from southern Brazil, posing an important risk of FeLV transmission to threatened wild felids inside those areas.

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巴西南巴西大德州保护区内自由放养的新热带野生猫科动物和家猫的白血病病毒。

猫白血病病毒（FeLV）和猫免疫缺陷病毒（FIV）是在家猫中引起严重疾病的逆转录病毒。最近，它们已经成为野生动物关注的焦点。本研究的目的是评估巴西南部自由放养的新热带野生猫科动物对猫科逆转录病毒的暴露。本研究共采集了48种被公路撞死的野生猫科动物，分属3个物种：Geoffroy’s cat （Leopardus geoffroyi）、margay （Leopardus wiedii）和Southern tiger cat （Leopardus guttulus）。此外，还调查了在保护区内发现的28只家猫。采用侧流免疫法（LFA）和分子法检测野生和家养野猫FeLV和FIV的存在。3只野猫（2只Geoffroy’s cats， 1只margay）经LFA（抗原）、PCR（前病毒DNA）和定量反转录PCR（病毒RNA）检测FeLV阳性。在保护区内取样的28只自由漫游的家猫中，有10只（35%）对FeLV呈阳性。家鼠和野猫均无FIV阳性。除了在两种自由放养的新热带猫科动物中发生FeLV外，FeLV阳性的家猫似乎在巴西南部的保护区中相对常见，这对这些地区内受威胁的野生猫科动物造成了FeLV传播的重要风险。

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来源期刊

Journal of Wildlife Diseases 农林科学-兽医学

CiteScore

2.70

自引率

0.00%

发文量

213

审稿时长

6-16 weeks

期刊介绍： The JWD publishes reports of wildlife disease investigations, research papers, brief research notes, case and epizootic reports, review articles, and book reviews. The JWD publishes the results of original research and observations dealing with all aspects of infectious, parasitic, toxic, nutritional, physiologic, developmental and neoplastic diseases, environmental contamination, and other factors impinging on the health and survival of free-living or occasionally captive populations of wild animals, including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Papers on zoonoses involving wildlife and on chemical immobilization of wild animals are also published. Manuscripts dealing with surveys and case reports may be published in the Journal provided that they contain significant new information or have significance for better understanding health and disease in wild populations. Authors are encouraged to address the wildlife management implications of their studies, where appropriate.