Diagnostic Accuracy of a Point-of-Care Immunoassay for Feline Immunodeficiency Virus Antibodies, Feline Leukemia Virus Antigen, and Dirofilaria immitis Antigen

Abstract

Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline leukemia virus (FeLV) are retroviral infections of cats worldwide whose clinical manifestations range from mild to severe disease. In both cases, infected cats can live a long life with proper care and should be managed to prevent infection of other cats. Dirofilaria immitis, the nematode that causes heartworm disease, can infect cats in any region where dogs are infected. Though cats are more resistant to infection, clinical diseases in the form of heartworm-associated respiratory disease can cause death. Screening for these infectious diseases enables veterinarians to manage their cases and prevent the spread to other cats. We describe the diagnostic accuracy of a point-of-care immunoassay for FIV, FeLV, and heartworm, compared to reference methods commonly available through reference laboratories to the practicing veterinarian. For FIV, we report 100% sensitivity (95% confidence limits (CL): 96.2–100%) and 97.8% specificity (95% CL: 95.4–99.4%). For FeLV, we report 100% sensitivity (95% CL: 97.7–100%) and 99.2% specificity (95% CL: 97.1–99.9%). And for heartworm, we report 90.2% sensitivity (95% CL: 76.9–97.3%) and 100% specificity (95% CL: 98.3–100%). Veterinarians may expect this performance relative to the reference methods they use for confirmatory serological testing.