The purposes of this study were to detect the FIV (feline immunodeficiency
virus) infection using PCR from blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples
and RT-PCR from CSF samples in a stray cat population (n = 100) from the
Isfahan Province, Iran and to correlate the FIV status with clinical signs. The
FIV prevalence evidenced by blood PCR was strong (64%), males and adults
were significantly more often infected and the occurrence of clinical signs
and particularly of oral diseases were significantly in FIV positive animals.
Whereas PCR applied to CSF samples failed to detect the virus, the viral
RNA fragments were positively detected by RT-PCR in 40.6% (26/64) of
CSF samples from FIV positive cats but were not associated with neurological
signs. These results show that PCR from blood samples is useful for detecting
FIV infection in cats with unknown serological status and that the central nervous
system contamination involves cell free virus particles and is not strictly
associated to neurological disorders.
