Objectives

To determine the prevalence of Feline Leukaemia Virus (FeLV) and Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) infection in cats presented to veterinary hospitals and animal shelters in the Bangkok area.

Materials & Methods

One hundred and fifteen cats were examined and age, sex, breed and recent clinical information were recorded. Cats were clinically categorised as sick or healthy. Sera were collected and blindly and independently tested for FeLV antigen and FIV antibodies using AGEN Vetmail (AGEN Biomedical, Acacia Ridge, Q., Australia).

Results

There were 38 healthy and 77 sick cats. None of the healthy cats tested positive for FeLV or FIV. Five (6%) sick cats tested positive for FeLV antigen and another four (5%) were positive for FIV antibodies.

Conclusion

Based on serological data, there is a low prevalence of feline retroviral infection in the Bangkok area.

Merial, Thailand and AGEN Biomedical, Australia provided funding for this project.