Effects of Feline Herpesvirus Type 1 Vaccination on Clinical Disease, Viral Shedding, and Post-Vaccination Reactions: A Systematic Review and Exploratory Meta-Analysis.
- 1Beijing Key Laboratory for Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases in Livestock and Poultry, Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing 100097, China.
- 2College of Veterinary Medicine, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding 071000, China.
- 3College of Life Science, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, China.
Abstract
Feline herpesvirus type 1 (FHV-1) causes respiratory and ocular disease in cats and establishes lifelong latency, but the extent to which vaccination modifies clinical disease, viral shedding, and latency-related outcomes remains uncertain. We systematically reviewed controlled in vivo studies of FHV-1 vaccination in cats, searching PubMed, Web of Science, and the CNKI from inception to 20 May 2026. Risk of bias was assessed with the SYRCLE tool and certainty for core outcomes with the GRADE approach. Exploratory random-effects meta-analyses were undertaken only when outcomes were sufficiently comparable. Of 327 records identified, 23 reports describing 20 independent animal studies (25 cohorts) were included. Fifteen reports evaluated shedding or viral load, 20 assessed immunogenicity, and one companion report examined latency and reactivation. In two comparable challenge studies involving 17 vaccinated and nine control cats, vaccination was associated with fewer post-challenge clinical signs (risk ratio [RR] = 0.64; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.41 to 0.99). In one monovalent modified-live vaccine study, cumulative clinical scores were lower after vaccination (mean difference [MD] = -36.00; 95% CI -57.25 to -14.75), with Hedges' g = -1.90 (95% CI -3.52 to -0.27). Estimates for fever, disease-related removal, and post-vaccination sneezing were imprecise. Most virological studies reported lower shedding or viral loads after vaccination, but heterogeneous assays, outcome definitions, and observation windows precluded robust pooling. Antibody responses could not be directly equated with clinical protection. Overall, FHV-1 vaccination may mitigate post-challenge clinical disease, whereas evidence for effects on shedding, post-vaccination reactions, latency, and reactivation remains limited or inconsistent.
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BibTeX
@article{lei2026effects,
title = {{Effects of Feline Herpesvirus Type 1 Vaccination on Clinical Disease, Viral Shedding, and Post-Vaccination Reactions: A Systematic Review and Exploratory Meta-Analysis.}},
author = {Zhen Lei and Chang Liu and Zhihua Yang and Xianzheng Yin and Wuchao Zhang and Jiangwei Song},
journal = {Viruses},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/v18101115},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42944035},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Effects of Feline Herpesvirus Type 1 Vaccination on Clinical Disease, Viral Shedding, and Post-Vaccination Reactions: A Systematic Review and Exploratory Meta-Analysis.
AU - Zhen Lei
AU - Chang Liu
AU - Zhihua Yang
AU - Xianzheng Yin
AU - Wuchao Zhang
AU - Jiangwei Song
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/08
JO - Viruses
DO - 10.3390/v18101115
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42944035
AB - Feline herpesvirus type 1 (FHV-1) causes respiratory and ocular disease in cats and establishes lifelong latency, but the extent to which vaccination modifies clinical disease, viral shedding, and latency-related outcomes remains uncertain. We systematically reviewed controlled in vivo studies of FHV-1 vaccination in cats, searching PubMed, Web of Science, and the CNKI from inception to 20 May 2026. Risk of bias was assessed with the SYRCLE tool and certainty for core outcomes with the GRADE approach. Exploratory random-effects meta-analyses were undertaken only when outcomes were sufficiently comparable. Of 327 records identified, 23 reports describing 20 independent animal studies (25 cohorts) were included. Fifteen reports evaluated shedding or viral load, 20 assessed immunogenicity, and one companion report examined latency and reactivation. In two comparable challenge studies involving 17 vaccinated and nine control cats, vaccination was associated with fewer post-challenge clinical signs (risk ratio [RR] = 0.64; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.41 to 0.99). In one monovalent modified-live vaccine study, cumulative clinical scores were lower after vaccination (mean difference [MD] = -36.00; 95% CI -57.25 to -14.75), with Hedges' g = -1.90 (95% CI -3.52 to -0.27). Estimates for fever, disease-related removal, and post-vaccination sneezing were imprecise. Most virological studies reported lower shedding or viral loads after vaccination, but heterogeneous assays, outcome definitions, and observation windows precluded robust pooling. Antibody responses could not be directly equated with clinical protection. Overall, FHV-1 vaccination may mitigate post-challenge clinical disease, whereas evidence for effects on shedding, post-vaccination reactions, latency, and reactivation remains limited or inconsistent.
SN - 1999-4915
ER -