Contrastive prevalence of feline retrovirus infections between northern and southern Vietnam

The prevalence of infections with three feline retroviruses; feline leukemi a virus (FeLV), feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline foamy virus (FeFV), was examined in domestic cats (Felis catus) and leopard cats (Felis bengalensis) in southern Vietnam in 1998. We then compared this data with our previous study in northern Vietnam in 1997. None of the cats had FeLV a ntigens in both the northen and southern areas. In contrast, there is a gre at distinction in the seropositivity of FIV. Twenty-two percent of domestic cats had FIV antibodies whereas no FIV positive cats were detected in nort hern area. FIV may have entered southern Vietnam recently and spread rapidl y. FeFV infections were found in both areas, suggesting that FeFV might be present in the cat populations in Vietnam from the earliest time.