Prevalence of Anti-feline Coronavirus Antibodies in Domestic Cats in Japan, Grouped by Breed

Abstract

The positivity of anti-feline coronavirus (FCoV) antibody was analyzed in a total of 83,606 domestic cats examined in FCoV serological test between 1993 and 2009 in Japan, grouped by breed. The positive rate was extremely higher in purebreds (76.3%) than in mixed breeds (50.1%) (χ²=4,408.5). In both breeds, the positive rate increased rapidly until aged 4 months, and declined with aging thereafter. The positive rate of purebreds increased, while that of mixed breeds decreased, during the surveyed period. These findings suggest that FCoV infection occurs at a high frequency in immature purebreds, and the prevalence has recently gotten worse. Compared with the averaged positive rate of the purebreds (76.3%), the positive rates of Scottish Fold (87.5%) and Maine Coon (89.6%) were extremely high (p<0.0001, χ²=143.2 and 131.6, respectively), and those of Siamese (47.1%) and Persian (65.3%) were extremely low (p<0.0001, χ²=332.2 and 248.9, respectively). The previous epidemiological studies also have shown that FCoV and feline infectious peritonitis were lower prevalent in Siamese and Persian than in other breeds, and a similar tendency was shown in this study.