This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Coyne, K. P.
Right arrow Articles by Dawson, S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Coyne, K. P.
Right arrow Articles by Dawson, S.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, October 2007, p. 3239-3244, Vol. 45, No. 10
0095-1137/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.01226-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Longitudinal Molecular Epidemiological Analysis of Feline Calicivirus Infection in an Animal Shelter: a Model for Investigating Calicivirus Transmission within High-Density, High-Turnover Populations{triangledown}

Karen P. Coyne,1* David Edwards,3,4 Alan D. Radford,2 Peter Cripps,2 David Jones,2 James L. N. Wood,4,5 Rosalind M. Gaskell,1 and Susan Dawson2

Departments of Veterinary Pathology,1 Veterinary Clinical Sciences, University of Liverpool, Leahurst, Neston, Wirral CH64 7TE, United Kingdom,2 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Public Health Network, Kingfisher House, Cambridgeshire, Huntingdon PE29 6FH, United Kingdom,3 Epidemiology Section, Animal Health Trust, Suffolk, Newmarket CB8 7UU, United Kingdom,4 Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ES, United Kingdom5

Received 18 June 2007/ Returned for modification 24 July 2007/ Accepted 31 July 2007

The control of outbreaks of calicivirus infection in high-density, high-throughput populations is a challenge to both human and veterinary medicine. In such populations, the prevalence of infection is, in part, dependent on the levels of biosecurity and how this affects virus transmission. Here we show how longitudinal analysis of feline calicivirus (FCV) infection in an animal rescue shelter can be used as a model to examine the dynamics of calicivirus transmission and evolution in such environments. FCV was isolated from 33 of 116 cats sampled over a 15-month period (overall prevalence, 28%). Sequence analysis of the immunodominant variable regions of the viral capsid gene identified 16 strains circulating in the shelter, with no single strain appearing to predominate. The majority of these strains were introduced into the shelter from the community and did not appear to be transmitted within the population. However, for three of these strains, putative transmission events within the shelter were identified. The rates of evolution within hypervariable regions of the FCV capsid gene in individual cats ranged from 0.05 to 1.4% per week, with the highest rates generally being found in animals that either acquired the virus while in the shelter or were undergoing acute infection. These data suggest that despite the high prevalence and presence of multiple strains of FCV within the shelter, the spread of such pathogens may be restricted by various control measures, including good hygiene and biosecurity.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Veterinary Pathology, University of Liverpool, Leahurst, Chester High Road, South Wirral CH64 7TE, United Kingdom. Phone: 0151 795 6033. Fax: 0151 794 6005. E-mail: kpcoyne{at}liv.ac.uk

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 8 August 2007.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, October 2007, p. 3239-3244, Vol. 45, No. 10
0095-1137/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.01226-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»