الفهرس 
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Abstract
Domestic cat ownership is becoming more popular in Egypt, and these animals require regular veterinary care owing to their emotional bond to their owners. The goal of this study was to shed light on the clinical and epidemiological situation associated with feline parvovirus infection in three different Egyptian provinces by using screening rapid tests and PCR assays as a first step toward establishing an acceptable control and preventive program in the study area.
A total of 100 diseased cats of various ages, sexes, and breeds were recruited to the study from November 2020 to December 2021 (14 months). They were also recruited from various locations and at various times of the year. A set of inclusion criteria had to be fulfilled by all the cases that have been recruited. These cats were presented with symptoms that suggested feline parvovirus infection, and only cases in which we were able to obtain faecal samples from them after owner consent were included in this study. They were then examined, thoroughly investigated, and tested for FPV infection using serological and molecular methods.
In the current study, 33 cases (33%) were recruited from Assiut, 35 cases (35%) from Cairo, and 32 cases (32%) from Suhag. The cats were divided into three age groups: 1 to 6 months (n=48), 6 to 12 months (n=32), and 12 months and up (n=20). Cats between the ages of 1 and 6 months were the most susceptible (48%). There were a variety of cat breeds exhibited, but Persian cats were the most common (66%). In regard of seasons, the winter had a higher percentage of cases (44%) than the other seasons. The majority of the cats in this study were unvaccinated (91%) and kept in their houses (80%).
A wide range of clinical signs were recorded in the admitted cats, which may differ from case to case. Lethargy and abdominal pain (76), anorexia (78), fever (59), persistent vomiting (60), mucoid to bloody diarrhea (58), dehydration (66), and only one cat presented with an abortion. Moreover, some cats only showed one sign (20%), while others showed all of the disease’s clinical signs (31%), the majority of them showed more than one clinical sign (43%), and just six cats arrived in the late stages of the disease.
Using the rapid tests and PCR, the overall prevalence of FPV infection among the investigated cats was % and 43 %, respectively. In addition, both tests detected FPV infection in 32 cases and ruled it out in 54 cases, however the PCR technique confirmed the infection in 11 cases that had tested negative by the rapid tests, while there were three cases that had given negative PCR results despite being positive by the rapid test. Furthermore, we found that the findings of the rapid screening test and the PCR were quite similar since statistical analysis revealed no significant differences.
In comparison to PCR, the antigen-based rapid screening test used in this study had sensitivity, specificity, positive (PPV) and negative predictive values (NPV), as well as overall accuracy of 74.42%, 94.74%, 91.4%, 83%, and 86%, and its agreement rate was at least substantial (kappa = 0.7077).
The most significant clinical signs detected in the rapid test positive cats were varying degrees of diarrhea ranging from mucoid to bloody 36.2%, vomiting 50%, anorexia 41.8%, lethargic 40.8%, dehydration 51.8%, and hyper or hypothermia 35.6% and 83.3%, respectively. In contrast, 33.3% of non-diarrheic cases, 13.6% of cats with normal appetite, 16.7% with normal activity, 12.5% of non-vomiting cases, and 20% of normothermic cases showed positive results with rapid test.
Variable degrees of diarrhea ranged from mucoid to bloody 43.1%, vomiting 53.33%, anorexia 48.7%, lethargic 48.7%, dehydration 53.6%, and hyper or hypothermia 49.15% and 83.3%, respectively, were the most significant clinical signs detected in the PCR positive cats. In contrast, 42.85% of non-diarrheic cases, 22.7% of cats with normal appetite, 25% with normal activity, 27.5% of non-vomiting cases, and 25.7% of normothermic cases showed positive results with PCR. Cats with signs of anorexia, vomiting, bloody diarrhea, severe dehydration, and hypothermia showed statistically significant higher infection rates by rapid and PCR tests.
The relationship between the rate of parvovirus infection and the ages of cats was studied epidemiologically, and it was found that there was no significant variation between the ages of examined cats and parvovirus infection, despite a higher percentage of parvovirus infection in the age group of 1 to 6 months and a lower infection rate in the other age groups. As the cats grew older, the infection rate gradually decreased.
In regard to the effect of sex and breed of the studied cats on the rate of infection with parvovirus, statistically, the present work revealed that neither sex nor breed had a role.
In terms of Climate, cats were significantly more likely to become infected during the winter and spring seasons compared to the summer and autumn seasons. The effect of location on the percentage of parvovirus infection was also explored, and we found that Suhag had significantly higher rates of FPV infection than Assiut and Cairo.
The study population’s vaccination status and lifestyle were also investigated into as risk factors. Lack of vaccination was found to be a significant risk factor for the development of FPV infection, as the disease was found to be more prevalent in unvaccinated kittens by rapid test (37.4%) or PCR (46.1%). In addition, house-kept cats were at the same risk, since the infection rate was higher among indoor cats (37.5% and 47.5%, respectively) than outdoors cats (25% and 25%) by rapid test and PCR assay.