Evaluation of a Point-of-Care Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) Test Kit (RapidSTATUS™ FIV) to Determine the FIV Status of FIV-Vaccinated and FIV-Unvaccinated Pet Cats in Australia

Simple Summary This study evaluated a commercial point-of-care (PoC) feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) test kit (RapidSTATUS (TM) FIV) for its accuracy in determining the FIV status of FIV-vaccinated and FIV-unvaccinated pet cats in Australia. In countries where FIV vaccination is used, veterinarians need a PoC kit that will produce a negative result for a FIV-uninfected cat, even if the cat is FIV-vaccinated or the FIV vaccination history is unknown, since incorrect diagnoses can impact negatively on the welfare of cats. FIV PoC kits also need to produce positive results in FIV-infected cats to help with appropriate management and to enable strategies to be implemented to prevent other cats from becoming FIV-infected. Results presented here show RapidSTATUS (TM) FIV to be highly accurate (98.8-100%) in a range of FIV-vaccinated and FIV-unvaccinated scenarios. Therefore, Australian veterinarians can reliably use RapidSTATUS (TM) FIV to rapidly and accurately determine the FIV status of all cats. Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) is a retrovirus that can cause immunosuppression, co-morbidities, and neoplasia in infected cats, and is commonly tested for in veterinary clinics and animal shelters in Australia. FIV diagnosis using point-of-care (PoC) kits to detect FIV antibodies in Australia is complicated by the commercial availability of an inactivated whole-FIV vaccine. The aim of this study was to determine the accuracy of the RapidSTATUS (TM) FIV antibody test kit in FIV-vaccinated and FIV-unvaccinated cats in Australia. Plasma from pet cats of known FIV vaccination and FIV infection statuses (n = 361), comprised of 57 FIV-uninfected cats annually vaccinated against FIV, 10 FIV-uninfected cats with lapsed FIV vaccination histories, 259 FIV-unvaccinated/FIV-uninfected cats, and 35 FIV-infected cats, was tested. RapidSTATUS (TM) FIV testing had sensitivity of 97.1% (34/35) and specificity of 100% (326/326), with an overall accuracy of 99.7% (360/361). Additional testing was undertaken using plasma from FIV-uninfected cats recently administered a primary FIV vaccination course (n = 12) or an annual booster FIV vaccination (n = 10). RapidSTATUS (TM) FIV was 98.8% (81/82) accurate and 100% (32/32) accurate in cats recently administered primary or annual FIV vaccinations, respectively. The high level of accuracy of RapidSTATUS (TM) FIV (98.8-100%) therefore establishes this PoC kit as a DIVA (differentiating infected from vaccinated animals) test. RapidSTATUS (TM) FIV is recommended to aid animal shelters, veterinarians, and researchers in Australia to accurately determine FIV infection status, irrespective of FIV vaccination history.

Automated summary

This study evaluated the accuracy of a commercial FIV test kit in Australian pet cats and found it to be highly accurate in determining the FIV status. This is important for veterinarians, animal shelters, and researchers in accurately diagnosing FIV infection.