Serological report of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 infection among cats in Northeastern China in 2012-02 and 2013-03

BACKGROUND: Influenza A virus has a wide range of hosts. It has not only infected human, but also been reported interspecies transmission from humans to other animals, such as pigs, poultry, dogs and cats. However, prevalence of A (H1N1) pdm09 influenza virus infections in cats in northeastern China is unknown. Therefore, the prevalence of A (H1N1) pdm09 influenza virus infections was performed among cats in northeastern China in this study. FINDINGS: Of all samples in this study, the overall seroprevalence of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 infection in cats was 21% (240/1140). It also showed a higher prevalence rate of pandemic(H1N1) 2009 infection in pet cats (30.6%) than roaming cats (11%) based on NT. In addition, the results also showed a trend of difference in term of species of cats and it was statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first survey on the seroprevalence of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 infection among cats in northeastern China. This study has observed a relatively high seroprevalence of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 among different cat populations in northeastern China, similar seroprevalence studies should be conducted elsewhere.