Seroprevalence and genomic divergence of circulating strains of feline immunodeficiency virus among Felidae and Hyaenidae species

This comprehensive study screened thousands of samples from many felid species plus hyenas for feline immunodeficiency virus and sequenced isolates to map viral diversity. The authors confirmed that FIV is endemic in numerous wild felids, including lions, pumas, leopards and Pallas’s cats, with each host typically carrying a deeply divergent, species-specific lineage. They also identified lentivirus in spotted hyenas, extending the host range beyond cats. The pattern of host-specific viral clades supported long-term virus-host co-evolution rather than recent cross-species jumps. By cataloguing seroprevalence and genomic divergence across the carnivore lineages, the paper provided a definitive reference on the natural history of FIV and a framework for detecting unusual spillover events that would signal recent transmission.