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Assessment of feline blood for transfusion purposes in the Dublin area of Ireland
Author(s) -
Juvet F.,
Brennan S.,
Mooney C. T.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
veterinary record
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.261
H-Index - 99
eISSN - 2042-7670
pISSN - 0042-4900
DOI - 10.1136/vr.c6879
Subject(s) - cats , medicine , feline immunodeficiency virus , blood typing , veterinary medicine , blood transfusion , virology , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , immunology , viral disease , lentivirus
The prevalence of A, B and AB blood types and of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline leukaemia virus (FeLV) infection was determined in cats in Ireland, in order to determine risk factors for blood taken for transfusion purposes. EDTA blood samples were available from 137 non‐pedigree cats and 39 pedigree cats (91 females and 85 males, aged four months to 15.0 years) in the Dublin area of Ireland. Of the 176 EDTA blood samples obtained, 112 (from 92 healthy cats and 20 sick cats) were tested for the presence of both FIV antibodies and FeLV antigens. Blood typing was performed using an immunochromatographic cartridge (CHROM; Alvedia). Testing for FIV and FeLV was performed by ELISA (SNAP FIV/FeLV Combo Test; Idexx Laboratories). Of the 39 pedigree cats, the majority (38 [97.4 per cent]) was type A, and only one (2.6 per cent) was type B. Of the 137 non‐pedigree cats, the majority (116 [84.7 per cent]) was type A, 20 (14.6 per cent) were type B, and one (0.7 per cent) was type AB. Of the 92 healthy cats tested, the prevalence of FIV and FeLV positivity was 4.35 and 1.09 per cent, respectively. None of the 20 sick cats tested was FIV‐positive; two (10 per cent) of the 20 sick cats were FeLV‐positive.