Studies of Naturally Transmitted Feline Leukemia Virus Infection
Twenty-six 16-week-old kittens were housed in intimate contact with asymptomatic feline leukemia virus (felv) carrier cats for 30 weeks. The overall infection rate was 100% after 30 weeks of exposure and the mortality was 19%. Two cats died of bone marrow suppression, 2 cats died of feline infectious peritonitis, and 1 cat died of reticuloendotheliosis.
Following exposure, a detectable viremia developed within 3 to 28 weeks in 22 of 26 cats, but the 4 remaining cats were never detectably viremic. Of these 22 cats, 6 were only transiently viremic and 16 became persistently viremic. A variable depression in the concentrations of blood platelets, wbc, and rbc occurred during the initial viremic phase. Except for several cats that died during the course of the study, hematologic changes were transient. At the end of the 30 weeks, all surviving cats, whether they remained viremic or not, had normal hematologic values and were clinically asymptomatic.
Feline oncornavirus-associated cell membrane antigen (focma) antibody appeared in the serum from 2 to 28 weeks after exposure.. Moderate titers were measured in cats that were never viremic, and high titers were observed in cats that were only transiently viremic. With several exceptions, persistently viremic cats usually developed low or nondetectable amounts of (focma) antibody. Virus-neutralizing antibody appeared at about the same time as (focma) antibody, and the amounts of neutralizing antibody paralleled the (focma) antibody values.
Authors: Niels C. Pedersen, Gordon Theilen, Mary Ann Keane, Linda Fairbanks, Tom Mason, Bruce Orser, Chia-Huei Chen, and Corolla Allison
Source: https://avmajournals.avma.org/
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