TABLE 2.
Western blot results for the presence of antibodies against FeLV p27 and FeLV p15(E) in free-ranging, captive nonvaccinated, and captive vaccinated cheetahs
| Western blot | Free-ranging |
Captive nonvaccinated |
Captive vaccinated |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. (%) of animals | No. (%) of samples | No. (%) of animals | No. (%) of samples | No. (%) of animals | No. (%) of samples | |
| FeLVa | ||||||
| Positive for both p15(E) fragments | 13 (29) | 16 (32) | 6 (37) | 10 (47) | 23 (66) | 23 (66) |
| Positive for p27 + p15(E) | 14 (31) | 15 (30) | 4 (26) | 5 (24) | 1 (3) | 1 (3) |
| Negative | 18 (40) | 19 (38) | 6 (37) | 6 (29) | 11 (31) | 11 (31) |
| Total tested | 45 | 50 | 15 | 21 | 35 | 35 |
| Sum | 45 (100) | 50 (100) | 16 (100)b | 21 (100) | 35 (100) | 35 (100) |
| Positive for p15(E) ofc | ||||||
| BeRV | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | ND | ND | ND | ND |
| FeRD114eRV | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | ND | ND | ND | ND |
| RMuLV | 6 (50)d | 6 (50)d | ND | ND | ND | ND |
| AKR-MLV | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | ND | ND | ND | ND |
| Total tested | 12 | 12 | ||||
Samples were considered positive when antibodies were detected against FeLV p27 plus one or two p15(E) fragments or against both p15(E) fragments only.
The sum of the animals is greater than the total number of animals because animals captured and tested repeatedly were positive for different fragments (see the text).
Six FeLV-p15(E)-positive and six FeLV-p15(E)-negative samples from 12 free-ranging cheetahs were used to test antibody reactivity against four additional retroviruses. BeRV, baboon endogenous retrovirus; FeRD114eRV, feline RD114 endogenous retrovirus; RMuLV, Rauscher murine leukemia virus; AKR-MLV, AKR murine leukemia virus; ND, not done.
All six RMuLV-p15(E)-positive samples were also FeLV-p15(E)-positive samples.