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Vaccination and Antibody Testing in Cats
Herman Egberink1, Tadeusz Frymus2, Katrin Hartmann3
1Department of Biomolecular Health Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Utrecht, 3584 CL Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Viruses
|July 27, 2022
Summary
Antibody testing in cats can verify vaccine effectiveness and guide re-vaccination schedules. While useful for feline panleukopenia, its application for other feline herpesvirus and calicivirus vaccines requires further research.
Area of Science:
- Veterinary immunology
- Feline infectious diseases
- Vaccinology
Background:
- Vaccines are crucial for feline health, stimulating immune responses against serious diseases.
- Current vaccination guidelines rely on minimal duration of immunity (DOI), with varying antibody titre correlations for different feline pathogens.
- Feline panleukopenia (FPV) antibody titres correlate with protection, unlike feline calicivirus (FCV) and feline herpesvirus (FHV).
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current knowledge and expert opinions on the application of antibody testing in cats.
- To explore the utility of antibody testing for assessing vaccine response and informing vaccination protocols.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature and expert consensus from the European Advisory Board on Cat Diseases (ABCD).
- Discussion of antibody testing methods, including laboratory diagnostics and point-of-care (POC) tests.
- Analysis of antibody testing applications in adult cats, kittens, and shelter environments.
Main Results:
- Antibody testing can confirm successful vaccination and inform re-vaccination intervals in adult cats.
- In shelters, antibody testing aids in controlling FPV outbreaks by identifying susceptible cats.
- Testing for kittens is proposed but currently limited by cost and impracticality of monitoring maternal antibodies.
Conclusions:
- Antibody testing offers valuable insights into feline immune status post-vaccination.
- Its role in guiding vaccination strategies for individual cats is promising but requires further validation and cost-effectiveness analysis.
- Further research is needed to clarify the correlation between antibody titres and protection for FCV and FHV infections.
