Prevalence of protective feline panleukopenia antibody titers detected by a point-of-care enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in cats presenting to a university emergency service.

Abstract

The goal of this study was to determine the prevalence of protective antibody titers against feline panleukopenia (FPL) in cats presenting to an emergency service. Seventy-five cats presenting for care for any injury or illness were eligible for inclusion. Using American Association of Feline Practitioners guidelines, vaccine status - up-to-date, not up-to-date, or unconfirmed - was recorded. Titers against FPL were semi-quantified using a point-of-care test and were classified as protective or non-protective. Of the 75 cats enrolled, 49 had protective titers (65%), whereas 26 (35%) did not. Fifty cats (66.7%) were considered up-to-date, whereas 25 cats (33.3%) were not up-to-date or unconfirmed. Not all up-to-date cats had positive titers and some cats with lapsed vaccines were still considered protected. Of the up-to-date cats, 35/50 (70%) had protective titers, whereas 15 (30%) did not. Of the 25 cats that were not up-to-date, titers were considered protective in 14 (56%) and absent in 11 (44%). This study supports that even in cats considered up-to-date, it is possible that adequate protection against FPL is not present. Care should be taken to appropriately isolate cats affected with illness attributable to FPL from other cats and prevent inadvertent nosocomial transmission.