Molecular detection and characterisation of feline morbillivirus in domestic cats in Malaysia

• Published in: Veterinary microbiology 2019-09, Vol.236, p.108382-108382, Article 108382
• Main Authors: Mohd Isa, Nur Hidayah, Selvarajah, Gayathri Thevi, Khor, Kuan Hua, Tan, Sheau Wei, Manoraj, Hemadevy, Omar, Nurul Husna, Omar, Abdul Rahman, Mustaffa-Kamal, Farina
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Blood; Cat Diseases - epidemiology; Cat Diseases - virology; Cats; Domestic cats; Feline morbillivirus (FeMV); Female; Females; Genomes; Health risks; Infections; Kidney Diseases - veterinary; Kidney Diseases - virology; Kidneys; L gene; Malaysia; Malaysia - epidemiology; Male; Molecular characterisation; Morbillivirus - classification; Morbillivirus - isolation & purification; Morbillivirus Infections - epidemiology; Morbillivirus Infections - veterinary; Morbillivirus Infections - virology; N gene; Phylogenetics; Phylogeny; Polymerase chain reaction; Ribonucleic acid; Risk factors; RNA; Tomography; Urine; Viruses
• ISSN: 0378-1135; 1873-2542
• DOI: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2019.08.005

•FeMV RNA were detected in urine and kidney samples, not in blood.•Male cats had a higher risk of FeMV infection than females.•High relatedness of Malaysian isolates with other Asian FeMV. Feline morbillivirus (FeMV), a novel virus from the family of Paramyxoviridae, was first identified in stray cat populations. The objectives of the current study were to (i) determine the molecular prevalence of FeMV in Malaysia; (ii) identify risk factors associated with FeMV infection; and (iii) characterise any FeMV isolates by phylogenetic analyses. Molecular analysis utilising nested RT-PCR assay targeting the L gene of FeMV performed on either urine, blood and/or kidney samples collected from 208 cats in this study revealed 82 (39.4%) positive cats. FeMV-positive samples were obtained from 63/124 (50.8%) urine and 20/25 (80.0%) kidneys while all blood samples were negative for FeMV. In addition, from the 35 cats that had more than one type of samples collected (blood and urine; blood and kidney; blood, urine and kidney), only one cat had FeMV RNA in the urine and kidney samples. Risk factors such as gender, presence of kidney-associated symptoms and cat source were also investigated. Male cats had a higher risk (p = 0.031) of FeMV infection than females. In addition, no significant association (p = 0.083) was observed between the presence of kidney-associated symptoms with FeMV status. From the 82 positive samples, FeMV RNA was detected from 48/82 (58.5%) pet cats and 34/126 (27.0%) shelter cats (p