Commercially Available Enzyme‐Linked Immunosorbent Assay and Polymerase Chain Reaction Tests for Detection of Feline Immunodeficiency Virus Infection

BACKGROUND: Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infection is an important cause of disease of cats worldwide. Initial screening is commonly performed by commercially available point‐of‐care (POC) ELISA tests. Confirmatory testing for positive POC test results is recommended. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for FIV are commonly used additional testing methods; however, reported measures of diagnostic accuracy vary widely between PCR tests, making interpretation of results difficult. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVE: There is very good agreement between results of a commercially available PCR test and a POC ELISA test for FIV for specimens collected from owned and shelter‐housed cats. ANIMALS: Blood samples from 168 cats from 2 adoption guarantee shelters, an FIV Sanctuary, and 64 private homes were used. METHODS: This was a prospective study. Whole blood samples were collected in K(2)‐EDTA, divided, and submitted for PCR and ELISA testing. Follow‐up whole blood samples were collected in lithium heparin from cats with discordant results and submitted for virus isolation (VI). RESULTS: There was very good agreement between ELISA and PCR (kappa 0.87; P < .001; 95% CI 0.79, 0.95). Of 168 cats, eleven had discordant ELISA/PCR results: 7 ELISA+/PCR‐ and 4 ELISA‐/PCR+. Using VI as a reference standard, there were 4 false‐positive PCR results, 5 false‐positive ELISA results, and 1 false‐negative PCR result (1 cat lost to follow‐up). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: While there was good agreement between the POC ELISA and PCR tests, the discordant results highlight the importance of cautious interpretation of test results and the necessity of confirmatory testing.