Low prevalence and frequent co-detection of feline astrovirus with feline enteric coronavirus and feline bocaparvovirus in asymptomatic cats in Japan.

Although feline astrovirus (FAstV) is recognized as a cause of feline gastroenteritis, the prevalence of asymptomatic infections in Japan remains unclear. We examined fecal samples from 124 domestic and 195 stray cats (n = 319) for FAstV and two common feline enteric viruses, feline enteric coronavirus (FECoV) and feline bocaparvovirus (FBoV). FAstV was detected only in stray cats (6/195, 3.08%). Among FAstV-positive samples, PCR-based co-detection with FECoV and/or FBoV was observed in 5/6 (83.3%). Phylogenetic analysis of two complete ORF2 sequences (TYT-100 and TYT-101) and two partial ORF2 sequences (~ 500 bp; TYT-13 and TYT-14) showed that Japanese FAstV strains clustered together and were genetically distinct from previously reported strains, based on available sequences. These findings suggest a low prevalence of FAstV with frequent co-detection of other enteric viruses in asymptomatic cats in Japan.