FeLV and FIV in Germany
February 15th, 2010 | Comments Off | Posted in feline immunodeficiency virus, feline leukemia virus, retrovirus
a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19616984?itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSumordinalpos=3"Gleich SE, Krieger S, Hartmann K. Prevalence of feline immunodeficiency virus and feline leukaemia virus among client-owned cats and risk factors for infection in Germany. J Feline Med Surg. 2009;11(12):985-992./abr /
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This study determined prevalence and risk factors for retrovirus infection in a large population of cats in Germany over a 10-year period. Client-owned cats (17,462) were tested for the presence of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) antibodies or feline leukaemia virus (FeLV) antigen. A subset of 100 cats was evaluated to determine their survival times. Of the 17,289 cats, 563 tested positive for anitibodies against FIV. The prevalence was 3.2% and did not change significantly between 1993 and 2002. FeLV antigen was found in 638 cats. The prevalence of FeLV decreased significantly during this time from 6% to 1%. Forty-two cats were positive for both viruses. Living in a multi-cat household did not influence the risk of retroviral infection. Risk factors for FIV infection were male gender, older age, mixed breed, access to outdoor, aggressive behavior, and FeLV co-infection. Risk factors for FeLV infection included contact with other cats, aggressive behavior, and FIV co-infection. Vaccination and testing programs appear to be effective in decreasing FeLV infection. The median survival time of FIV-infected cats was not significantly different from non-infected cats. FeLV-infected cats had significantly shorter median survival times than non-infected cats. [VT]br /
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a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19721785?itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSumordinalpos=2"Little S, Sears W, Lachtara J, Bienzle D. Seroprevalence of feline leukemia virus and feline immunodeficiency virus infection among cats in Canada. Can Vet J. 2009;50(6):644-648./abr /
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a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16448357?itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSumordinalpos=34"Levy JK, Scott HM, Lachtara JL, Crawford PC. Seroprevalence of feline leukemia virus and feline immunodeficiency virus infection among cats in North America and risk factors for seropositivity. J Am Vet Med Assoc. Feb 1 2006;228(3):371-376./abr /
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Feline Leukemia Virus
ia href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19925574?itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSumordinalpos=1"Stutzer B, Muller F, Majzoub M, et al. Role of latent feline leukemia virus infection in nonregenerative cytopenias of cats. J Vet Intern Med. Nov 17 2009./a/ibr / br / Nonregenerative cytopenias such as nonregenerative anemia, neutropenia, and thrombocytopenia are a common finding in cats infected with feline leukemia virus (FeLV). The objective of this study was to assess the role of latent FeLV infection in bone marrow in cats with nonregenerative cytopenias that had a negative FeLV antigen blood test. Thirty-seven cats were included in the patient group meeting inclusion criteria of a nonregenerative cytopenia of unknown origin and a negative FeLV antigen test result. The group’s results were compared to two control groups that also totaled 37 cats. Whole blood and bone marrow samples were tested for FeLV using two different PCR assays. Results indicated that PCR from bone marrow could be considered a more sensitive method to detect FeLV latency than PCR of whole blood. Two of the 37 cats (5.4%) in the patient groups were positive on bone marrow PCR results and were considered infected with FeLV. The latent FeLV infection in those two cats was the possible cause of the observed nonregenerative cytopenia. [VT]br / br / bRelated articles:/bbr / a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11876630?itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSumordinalpos=9"Herring ES, Troy GC, Toth TE, Forrester SD, Weigt LA, Herring IP. Detection of feline leukaemia virus in blood and bone marrow of cats with varying suspicion of latent infection. J Feline Med Surg. Sep 2001;3(3):133-141./abr / br / a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15661159?itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSumordinalpos=8"Torres AN, Mathiason CK, Hoover EA. Re-examination of feline leukemia virus: host relationships using real-time PCR. Virology. Feb 5 2005;332(1):272-283./abr / br / More on cat health: a href="http://www.winnfelinehealth.org/Health.html"Winn Feline Foundation Library/abr / a href="http://www.facebook.com/WinnFelineFoundation"Join us on Facebook/abr / a href="http://www.twitter.com/WinnFeline"Follow us on Twitter/adiv class="blogger-post-footer"Providing expert cat health information and supporting cat health research since 1968.img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1170470470666539402-6996565903865105809?l=winnfelinehealth.blogspot.com' alt='' //divdiv class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CatHealthNewsFromTheWinnFelineFoundation?a=nNP6JehO074:fuwLvIDs7OE:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CatHealthNewsFromTheWinnFelineFoundation?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CatHealthNewsFromTheWinnFelineFoundation?a=nNP6JehO074:fuwLvIDs7OE:UT3xtbGYFzA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CatHealthNewsFromTheWinnFelineFoundation?d=UT3xtbGYFzA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CatHealthNewsFromTheWinnFelineFoundation?a=nNP6JehO074:fuwLvIDs7OE:qj6IDK7rITs"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CatHealthNewsFromTheWinnFelineFoundation?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CatHealthNewsFromTheWinnFelineFoundation?a=nNP6JehO074:fuwLvIDs7OE:F7zBnMyn0Lo"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CatHealthNewsFromTheWinnFelineFoundation?i=nNP6JehO074:fuwLvIDs7OE:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CatHealthNewsFromTheWinnFelineFoundation?a=nNP6JehO074:fuwLvIDs7OE:V_sGLiPBpWU"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CatHealthNewsFromTheWinnFelineFoundation?i=nNP6JehO074:fuwLvIDs7OE:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CatHealthNewsFromTheWinnFelineFoundation?a=nNP6JehO074:fuwLvIDs7OE:oCFASsrFxfc"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CatHealthNewsFromTheWinnFelineFoundation?d=oCFASsrFxfc" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CatHealthNewsFromTheWinnFelineFoundation/~4/nNP6JehO074" height="1" width="1"/FeLV and FIV Affect Blood Values in Cats
Gleich S, Hartmann K: Hematology and serum biochemistry of feline immunodeficiency virus-infected and feline leukemia virus-infected cats, J Vet Intern Med 23:552, 2009.Complete documentation of the hematologic and biochemical values in cats naturally infected by feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) or feline leukemia virus (FeLV) has been lacking. The authors performed a retrospective study of 3,780 client owned cats tested for FIV and FeLV. The objective was to report differences in laboratory values between FIV- or FeLV-infected and non-infected and between FIV- and FeLV-infected cats. Serum activity levels of aspartate transaminase (AST) and glutamate dehydrogenase (GLDH) and serum concentration of glucose were significantly lower, while serum concentrations of total protein (TP) and gamma-globulins were significantly higher in FIV-positive cats compared with negative cats. Results indicated significantly lower PCV, hemoglobin (Hb), red blood cell count (RBC) and platelet counts (PLT) in FeLV-positive cats than FIV- infected and control cats. TP and creatinine concentrations were significantly lower in FeLV-infected cats than in non-infected. FeLV-infected cats were at high risk for the development of cytopenias and hematologic abnormalities are common. Clinicopathologic abnormalities are less frequent in FIV-infected cats. [VT]
>> PubMed Abstract
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Hofmann-Lehmann R, Holznagel E, Ossent P et al: Parameters of disease progression in long-term experimental feline retrovirus (feline immunodeficiency virus and feline leukemia virus) infections: hematology, clinical chemistry, and lymphocyte subsets, Clin Diagn Lab Immunol 4:33, 1997.
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Levy JK, Scott HM, Lachtara JL et al: Seroprevalence of feline leukemia virus and feline immunodeficiency virus infection among cats in North America and risk factors for seropositivity, J Am Vet Med Assoc 228:371, 2006.
>> PubMed Abstract
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Prevalence of FeLV and FIV in Canada
September 21st, 2009 | Comments Off | Posted in FIV, FeLV, feline immunodeficiency virus, feline leukemia virus, retrovirus
Little S, Sears W, Lachtara J et al: Seroprevalence of feline leukemia virus and feline immunodeficiency virus infection among cats in Canada, Can Vet J 50:644, 2009.Feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) are two of the most important infectious diseases of cats worldwide. Many studies have evaluated the prevalence of FeLV and FIV in North American cats, but very little data has been available for Canada. Veterinary clinics, animal shelters, cat rescue programs, and feral cat programs in Canada were invited to participate in the study. Enrolled participants were requested to submit the results of FeLV and FIV testing performed between Aug. 1 and Nov. 15, 2007. Information collected on each cat tested included location of testing, age, gender, access to outdoors, and whether the cat was ill at the time of testing. A total of 343 vet clinics and 13 shelters/rescue groups representing all Canadian provinces participated. Complete results were received for 11,144 cats of which 4.3% were positive for FIV and 3.4% were positive for FeLV. The seroprevalence of FeLV and FIV in this study was higher than in a recent similar study of predominantly US cats (FIV 2.5%, FeLV 2.3%). [SL]
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Little SE: Feline immunodeficiency virus testing in stray, feral, and client-owned cats of Ottawa, Can Vet J 46:898, 2005.
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Levy JK, Scott HM, Lachtara JL et al: Seroprevalence of feline leukemia virus and feline immunodeficiency virus infection among cats in North America and risk factors for seropositivity, J Am Vet Med Assoc 228:371, 2006.
>> PubMed Abstract
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Feline Leukemia Virus
Lutz, H., D. Addie, et al. (2009). "Feline leukaemia ABCD guidelines on prevention and management." J Feline Med Surg 11(7): 565-74.Feline leukemia virus (FeLV) is a retrovirus found in cats everywhere in the world. While FeLV prevalence has decreased over the last few decades, primarily due to improvements in testing and vaccination, there are still millions of infected cats. Transmission of the virus occurs mainly via friendly contact, such as mutual grooming. Fortunately, the virus does not contaminate the environment as it is does not survive more than minutes outside the host. Young kittens are most at risk of infection. The most common clinical problems associated with FeLV infection are immunosuppression (with secondary infections), anemia, and lymphoma. Fortunately, effective vaccines exist against FeLV for cats at risk of infection. [SL]
>> PubMed Abstract
>> European Advisory Board on Cat Diseases
Related articles:
Levy, J., C. Crawford, et al. (2008). "2008 American Association of Feline Practitioners' feline retrovirus management guidelines." Journal of Feline Medicine & Surgery 10(3): 300-316.
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FeLV Shedding in Feces
Gomes-Keller, M. A., E. Gonczi, et al. (2009). "Fecal shedding of infectious feline leukemia virus and its nucleic acids: a transmission potential." Vet Microbiol 134(3-4): 208-17.Feline leukemia virus (FeLV) is an important pathogen of cats that is associated with cancer and immunodeficiency. Transmission of the virus occurs primarily via saliva. These investigators examined fecal shedding of the virus by testing for viral RNA and DNA, as well as by virus cultivation from rectal swabs of infected cats. They found that cats testing positive using common in-clinic test kits for FeLV antigen also shed virus in feces, and the majority of them were infectious to other cats. None of these FeLV-shedding cats showed any gastrointestinal signs of disease. However, it appears that the viral load in feces is small, and while it did lead to exposure and antibody production against the virus in uninfected cats in contact with virus-positive feces, these cats did not become antigen-positive on in-clinic test kits. Viral genetic material was found in tissues from a minority of these exposed cats, indicating transmission via feces is possible. While secondary to saliva as a means of virus spread, these results indicate that sharing of litter pans between infected and susceptible cats does bear some risk for transmission of FeLV. [MK]
>> PubMed Abstract
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Gomes-Keller, M. A., R. Tandon, et al. (2006). "Shedding of feline leukemia virus RNA in saliva is a consistent feature in viremic cats." Vet Microbiol 112(1): 11-21.
>> PubMed Abstract
Levy, J., C. Crawford, et al. (2008). "2008 American Association of Feline Practitioners' feline retrovirus management guidelines." Journal of Feline Medicine & Surgery 10(3): 300-316.
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New FeLV/FIV Management Guidelines
June 9th, 2008 | Comments Off | Posted in FIV, FeLV, feline immunodeficiency virus, feline leukemia virus
Levy, J., C. Crawford, et al. (2008). "2008 American Association of Feline Practitioners' feline retrovirus management guidelines." Journal of Feline Medicine & Surgery 10(3): 300-316.Feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) are among the most common infectious diseases of cats. Although vaccines are available for both viruses, identification and segregation of infected cats form the cornerstone for preventing new infections. Guidelines in this report have been developed for diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and management of FeLV and FIV infections. All cats should be tested for FeLV and FIV infections at appropriate intervals based on individual risk assessments. No test is 100% accurate at all times under all conditions; results should be interpreted along with the patient's health and risk factors. Retroviral tests can diagnose only infection, not clinical disease, and cats infected with FeLV or FIV may live for many years. A decision for euthanasia should never be based solely on whether or not the cat is infected. Vaccination against FeLV is highly recommended in kittens. In adult cats, antiretroviral vaccines are considered non-core and should be administered only if a risk assessment indicates they are appropriate.
>> PubMed abstract
Related articles:
Levy, J., H. Scott, et al. (2006). "Seroprevalence of feline leukemia virus and feline immunodeficiency virus infection among cats in North America and risk factors for seropositivity." J Amer Vet Med Assoc 228(3): 371-376.
>> PubMed abstract
Goldkamp, C. E., J. K. Levy, et al. (2008). "Seroprevalences of feline leukemia virus and feline immunodeficiency virus in cats with abscesses or bite wounds and rate of veterinarian compliance with current guidelines for retrovirus testing." J Am Vet Med Assoc 232(8): 1152-8.
>> PubMed abstract
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Causes of Gingivitis in Cats
May 20th, 2008 | Comments Off | Posted in Bartonella, FIV, FeLV, calicivirus, feline herpesvirus, feline immunodeficiency virus, feline leukemia virus, gingivitis, gingivostomatitis, stomatitis
Quimby, J. M., T. Elston, et al. (2008). "Evaluation of the association of Bartonella species, feline herpesvirus 1, feline calicivirus, feline leukemia virus and feline immunodeficiency virus with chronic feline gingivostomatitis." J Feline Med Surg 10(1): 66-72.Gingivostomatitis is a common medical condition in cats. Clinical signs include red and swollen gums that may bleed easily, halitosis, and oral pain. The discomfort can lead to dysphagia, decreased appetite, and weight loss. The syndrome is likely to be multifactorial and it is suspected to involve an exaggerated immune response to either infectious or non-infectious antigens. Other factors that may be involved include genetic predispostion, diet, stressors, and the effects of domestication. Several infectious agents have been found in cats with gingivostomatitis such as feline leukemia virus (FeLV), feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), calicivirus (FCV), herpesvirus (FHV-1), and Bartonella. However, all these agents can also be found in healthy cats so proving cause and effect has been difficult. The 45 cats in this study were housed together, had a history of flea exposure, and were vaccinated with a modified live FVRCP vaccine. At the time of sample collection, 36 of the cats had active gingivostomatitis. Samples were collected and analyzed for infectious agents. All of the agents were found in the population with the exception of FeLV. However, evidence of infection with Bartonella species, FHV-1, FCV, FeLV or FIV was not overrepresented in the cats with gingivostomatitis and so the data fail to support the hypotheses that these organisms were a cause of gingivostomatitis in this population of cats. The researchers conclude that diagnostic test results for these infectious agents should be interpreted carefully as none appear to correlate to the presence or absence of disease.
>> PubMed abstract
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Southerden, P. and C. Gorrel (2007). "Treatment of a case of refractory feline chronic gingivostomatitis with feline recombinant interferon omega." J Small Anim Pract 48(2): 104-6.
>> PubMed abstract
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Retroviruses and Cat Bite Wounds
April 30th, 2008 | Comments Off | Posted in FIV, FeLV, abscess, bite wound, feline immunodeficiency virus, feline leukemia virus
Goldkamp, C. E., J. K. Levy, et al. (2008). "Seroprevalences of feline leukemia virus and feline immunodeficiency virus in cats with abscesses or bite wounds and rate of veterinarian compliance with current guidelines for retrovirus testing." J Am Vet Med Assoc 232(8): 1152-8.In this prospective study, data was collected on 967 cats being treated for bite wounds and abscesses from 134 veterinary practices in 30 states. Cats were tested for feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) at the time of presentation. Veterinarians were asked to retest cats 60 days later to determine if seronegative cats became positive after the high-risk event. The FeLV-FIV status of 96 cats was known prior to the bite wound event. At the time of treatment, 19.3% of cats were seropositive for FeLV and/or FIV. Risk factors associated with seropositive status included age (adult), gender (male), history of wounds, and outdoor access. Retesting of seronegative cats was recommended to owners of 478 cats at 54.5% of the practices. However, only 13.4% of cats were restested. Of these cats, 5.2% that were initially seronegative for FIV seroconverted. This study determined that a high proportion of cats with abscesses or bite wounds were seropositive for retrovirus infection. Unfortunately, compliance with recommendations to test cats at the time of the event or after treatment was low. Clearly, the FeLV-FIV status of cats with fight wounds should be determined at the time of treatment, and seronegative cats should be retested in 60 days.
>> PubMed abstract
Related articles:
Levy, J. K., H. M. Scott, et al. (2006). "Seroprevalence of feline leukemia virus and feline immunodeficiency virus infection among cats in North America and risk factors for seropositivity." J Am Vet Med Assoc 228(3): 371-6.
>> PubMed abstract
More on cat health: Winn Feline Foundation Library