Identification of feline immunodeficiency virus subtype-B on St. Kitts, West Indies by quantitative PCR

Abstract

Introduction: Although antibodies to the feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) have been detected by SNAP assay in cats from St. Kitts, there have been no molecular studies to further confirm the infection and determine the FIV subtypes present. Methodology: Total nucleic acids were extracted from EDTA whole blood specimens from 35 cats, followed by quantitative fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) PCR under a six-channel LightCycler 2.0 Instrument with Software version 4.1. Results: Four of 11 stray cats (36 %) but none of 24 owned cats were FIV positive by real-time PCR.  High-resolution melting curve analysis indicated that all four positive cats were infected with FIV subtype-B. Conclusions: This is the first molecular characterization of FIV subtypes on St. Kitts and the results confirm the high prevalence of FIV infection in stray cats on the island.