Feline
Leukemia Virus Complex
The
Disease
.....Transmitted by close contact between cats
.....Clinical signs appear 2 weeks to several years after exposure.
.....Expression of the disease is often stress related.
.....FeLV is inactivated by disinfectants, soaps, heat and drying.
.....Clinical signs vary considerably; they include: anemia, kidney
disease, leukemia, immunosuppression or malignant lymphoma.
.....Cats can be tested in the clinic with an ELISA.
.....No cure once the disease is acquired. 85% of all cats with
FeLV die within 3 years of acquiring the disease (Waltham, 1993).
.....FeLV only affects cats.
The Vaccine
....Initial
vaccination requires one booster and subsequent annual boosters(Waltham,
1993).
....Tests for the Feline Leukemia Virus should be performed before
the cat is vaccinated, especially if the vaccination status of the
dam is unknown (Waltham, 1993). This is because an infected, vaccinated
cat is still a source of infection to other cats and may still show
clinical signs.
....The vaccine has been shown to be highly effective (Pederson,
1993) by some researchers and others have questioned its efficacy
(Jarrett and Ganiere, 1996).
....It is a non-living vaccine so annual boosters are recommended.
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