Vaccination and antibody testing in cats

Egberink, H. et al. (2022) Vaccination and antibody testing in cats. Viruses, 14(8), 1602. (doi: 10.3390/v14081602) (PMID:35893667) (PMCID:PMC9394466)

Abstract

Vaccines protect cats from serious diseases by inducing antibodies and cellular immune responses. Primary vaccinations and boosters are given according to vaccination guidelines provided by industry and veterinary organizations, based on minimal duration of immunity (DOI). For certain diseases, particularly feline panleukopenia, antibody titres correlate with protection. For feline calicivirus and feline herpesvirus, a similar correlation is absent, or less clear. In this review, the European Advisory Board on Cat Diseases (ABCD) presents current knowledge and expert opinion on the use of antibody testing in different situations. Antibody testing can be performed either in diagnostic laboratories, or in veterinary practice using point of care (POC) tests, and can be applied for several purposes, such as to provide evidence that a successful immune response was induced following vaccination. In adult cats, antibody test results can inform the appropriate re-vaccination interval. In shelters, antibody testing can support the control of FPV outbreaks by identifying potentially unprotected cats. Antibody testing has also been proposed to support decisions on optimal vaccination schedules for the individual kitten. However, such testing is still expensive and it is considered impractical to monitor the decline of maternally derived antibodies.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Hosie, Professor Margaret and Addie, Dr Diane
• Authors: Egberink, H., Frymus, T., Hartmann, K., Möstl, K., Addie, D. D., Belák, S., Boucraut-Baralon, C., Hofmann-Lehmann, R., Lutz, H., Lloret, A., Marsilio, F., Pennisi, M. G., Tasler, S., Thiry, E., Truyen, U., and Hosie, M. J.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine; College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Infection & Immunity > Centre for Virus Research
• Journal Name: Viruses
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 1999-4915
• ISSN (Online): 1999-4915
• Published Online: 22 July 2022
• Copyright Holders: Copyright: © 2022 by the authors
• First Published: First published in Viruses 14(8): 1602
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons licence