Prevalence of Eight Viruses in Captive Amur Tigers ( Panthera tigris altaica ) From Harbin, China

The Amur tiger, a flagship species in wildlife conservation in China, was the focus of this study, which is aimed at detecting viral infections that could threaten the survival of this population. A total of 60 Amur tigers were examined, including 21 blood samples and 60 nasopharyngeal swab samples. Various PCR methods were used to detect the viruses: standard PCR was applied to identify feline parvovirus (FPV), nested PCR for feline herpesvirus‐1 (FHV‐1), feline calicivirus (FCV), feline coronavirus (FCoV), feline leukemia virus (FeLV), feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), and qPCR for canine distemper virus (CDV) and influenza A virus (IAV). The results showed that 70.0% (42/60) of the tigers tested positive for at least one viral infection. Specifically, the prevalence of FPV, FHV‐1, and FCoV were 14.3% (3/21), 26.7% (16/60), and 56.7% (34/60), respectively. A co‐infection rate of 21.4% (9/42) was observed among infected tigers. No positive results were found for FCV, FIV, FeLV, CDV, or IAV. Overall, this is the first study to detect the presence of FCoV in Amur tigers in China and confirms their exposure to FPV, FHV‐1, and FCoV. 东北虎是中国野生动物保护的旗舰物种，本研究旨在检测可能威胁东北虎生存的几种病毒。本研究共检测了60只东北虎，包括21份血液样本和60份鼻咽拭子样本。采用多种PCR方法检测:普通PCR检测猫细小病毒（FPV），巢式PCR检测猫I型疱疹病毒（FHV‐1）、猫杯状病毒（FCV）、猫冠状病毒（FCoV）、猫白血病病毒（FeLV）和猫免疫缺陷病毒（FIV），qPCR检测犬瘟热病毒（CDV）和流感A病毒（IAV）。检测结果显示，70.0%（42/60）的东北虎感染了至少1种病毒。FPV、FHV‐1和FCoV的感染率分别为14.3%（3/21）、26.7%（16/60）和56.7%（34/60）。在感染的东北虎中，病毒多重感染率为21.4%（9/42）。本研究并未检测到FCV、FIV、FeLV、CDV和IAV。总体而言，这是中国第1次报道东北虎感染FCoV，同时证明FPV、FHV‐1和FCoV也有一定程度的感染。 Practitioner Points In response to the viruses mentioned in the text, the tiger park should adhere to the principle of prevention measures, strictly administering vaccines in accordance with the park's regulations. Reasonable separation is necessary. Managing tigers in different areas based on criteria such as maturity can, to some extent, reduce the risk of virus infection in young tigers. After visitors have toured the park, thorough environmental disinfection should be carried out to prevent the introduction of viruses by visitors.