Abstract

Feline panleukopenia is a viral disease of domestic cats caused by Protoparvovirus carnivoran 1. This virus species is generally classified into feline parvovirus (FPV) and canine parvovirus type 2 (CPV-2) according to phylogenetic characteristics and association with diseases in the animal hosts. Despite the availability of vaccines, feline panleukopenia has been reported in cats from Brazil. This study aimed to detect and characterize Protoparvovirus carnivoran 1 in blood samples from 368 domestic cats in southern Brazil. Total DNA was extracted from these samples, and FPV/CPV-2 detection was performed using a specific real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay. The viral protein 2 (VP2) gene was further sequenced to identify the FPV/CPV-2 genotype. The results showed nine blood samples (2.45%) testing positive for Protoparvovirus carnivoran 1. Partial VP2 gene was successfully sequenced in six of these positive samples. A phylogenetic analysis with a large dataset classified all protoparvoviruses into three main clades: A, B, and CPV. Four of the viruses sequenced in this study (IDs 9917, 9919, 9927, and 9936) were classified in clade A, one (ID 9944) in clade B, and one (ID 9930) in clade CPV. Furthermore, three FPVs from clade A showed total nucleotide identity among themselves and also with field FPV sequences, while two of them (IDs 9936 and 9944) showed high nucleotide identity with two different modified live virus vaccines (from Clades A and B, respectively). These findings suggest that domestic cats are infected by field-like and/or vaccine-related FPV strains, as well as CPV-2 in southern Brazil.

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