Genotypic Diversity of Feline Bocavirus Identified in Cats from Italy

Background: Feline bocavirus (FBoV) is considered one of the emerging viral agents affecting cats. Methods: this observational study investigated FBoV occurrence by convenience sampling of 224 cats admitted to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of Lodi, Italy, in 2020-2025 using PCR targeting the NP1 gene. Positive samples were phylogenetically analyzed. Results: FBoV positivity was observed in 17/224 (7.6%) cats. FBoV genotypes 1 (4%), 2 (0.9%) and 3 (2.7%) were identified. Out of the animals with collection of fecal samples, FBoV-positive cats were 17/53 (32.1%), whereas cats with blood (n. 69), respiratory (n. 54), urine (n. 46), or other (n. 2) samples were FBoV-negative. In a subset of cats with more than one fecal sample collected, viral carriage was detected for up to two weeks. Young age, stray/shelter condition and hospitalization were significantly associated with FBoV positivity (p = 0.0008, p = 0.0139 and p = 0.0023, respectively). In cats with analyzed fecal samples, Feline panleukopenia virus (FPV) positivity was associated with FBoV positivity (p < 0.001), whereas presence of diarrhea was not associated with FBoV occurrence. Conclusions: the sampling strategy did not allow us to estimate FBoV prevalence in the cat population. Nevertheless, the circulation of genetically diverse FBoV strains among cats in Italy, the association of FBoV positivity with hospitalization and results suggesting that FBoV may not be a primary pathogen for gastrointestinal disease underscore the importance of comprehensive surveillance studies to enhance the understanding of the evolutionary characteristics, epidemiology and pathogenic role of FBoV.