Diagnostic Methods for Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) in Domestic Cats:A Systematic Review of Recent Advances (۲۰۲۰–۲۰۲۵)

Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) remains one of the most significant retroviral infections affecting domestic cats worldwide. Accurate diagnosis is essential for disease management, population control, and improving public-health awareness. This systematic review evaluates advances in diagnostic methods for FIV published between ۲۰۲۰ and ۲۰۲۵. A comprehensive literature search was conducted using PubMed, Scopus, and CAB Abstracts with keywords including “FIV,” “diagnosis,” “ELISA,” “point-of-care,” “PCR,” and “validation.” Recent developments demonstrate major progress in both serological and molecular testing. The FIVCHECK Ab ELISA achieved ۱۰۰% sensitivity and specificity under validation conditions (Ferrero et al., ۲۰۲۵). Saliva-based rapid testing showed a specificity of ۱۰۰% and a sensitivity of ۸۴.۲%, offering a promising non-invasive approach for field screening (Green et al., ۲۰۲۵). Moreover, an RNase-hybridization-assisted amplification (RHAM) assay provided ۱۰۰% specificity and ۹۲.۲% accuracy compared to RT-qPCR (Suwannachote et al., ۲۰۲۵). Despite these advances, antibody-based tests cannot differentiate between vaccinated and naturally infected cats (Little et al., ۲۰۲۰; Westman et al., ۲۰۲۲), while molecular methods may fail to detect very early or late-stage infections (Bęczkowski et al., ۲۰۲۲; de Mello et al., ۲۰۲۳). Combining serological screening with confirmatory molecular testing remains the most reliable diagnostic strategy. Future research should emphasize test standardization, validation across diverse cat populations, and the creation of multiplex assays combining FIV and FeLV detection (Esty et al., ۲۰۲۳; Prisco et al., ۲۰۲۵).

کلیدواژه ها:

Feline Immunodeficiency Virus ، Diagnostic Tests ، ELISA ، PCR ، Point-of-Care Testing ، Systematic Review