Felis catus gammaherpesvirus 1 e coinfeccoes com patogenos virais felinos em gatos domesticos no Brasil

Felis catus gammaherpesvirus 1 (FcaGHVl) may causes an asymptomatic infection that result in an efficient transmission and subsequently dissemination of the virus in feline population. This study used molecular detection by qPCR (quantitative PCR) based on DNA polymerase gene fragment amplification to evaluate the occurrence of FcaGHV1 and its correlation with other feline viral pathogens, such as Carnivore protoparvovirus 1 (CPPV-1), Felid alphaherpesvirus 1 (FeHV-1), and feline retroviruses such as feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline leukemia virus (FeLV). Of the 182 blood samples evaluated 23.6% (43/182) were positives for FcaGHV1. Approximately 37.9% (33/87) of the samples that tested positive for retrovirus were also were positive for FcaGHV1 infection (P0.46) coinfection. All samples were negative for FeHV-1. Male felines were significantly associated to FcaGHV1 (P< 0.0001) and their risk of infection with FcaGHV1 was about of 7.74 times greater compared to females. Kittens ([less than or equal to] 1 year) were the least affected by FcaGHV1 infection, being verified a rate of 7.7% (4/52). Therefore, male cats over one year old and infected with FIV were considerably more likely to be infected with FcaGHV1. To our knowledge, this is the first study to report the occurrence and molecular detection of FcaGHV1 infection in domestic cats in Brazil and in South America. Key words: gammaherpesvirus, herpesvirus, feline pathogen, infectious diseases, diagnosis. Felis catus gammaherpesvirus 1 (FcaGHV1) pode causar uma infeccao assintomatica, que resulta em uma transmissao eficiente e consequente disseminacao do virus na populacao felina. Este estudo utilizou a deteccao molecular por qPCR (PCR quantitativa) baseado na amplificacao de um fragmento do gene da DNA polimerase para avaliar a ocorrencia de FcaGHV1, sendo correlacionado a outros patogenos virais felinos como Carnivore protoparvovirus 1 (CPPV-1), Felid alphaherpesvirus 1 (FeHV-1) e aos retrovirus felinos como virus da imunodeficiencia felina (FIV) e virus da leucemia felina (FeLV). Das 182 amostras de sangue avaliadas, 23,6% (43/182) foram positivas para FcaGHV1. Aproximadamente 37,9% (33/87) das amostras positivas para retrovirus tambem foram positivas para FcaGHV1 (P