Please
note: Media Relations is unable to answer questions about pet health
problems. Contact your veterinarian.
Source:
Kenneth Harkin, 785-532-4251, harkin@vet.k-state.edu
http://www.vet.ksu.edu/depts/ClinicalSciences/faculty/harkin.htm
News release prepared by: Amber Haag, 785-532-6415
Thursday,
February 24, 2005
CATS
SHOULD BE TESTED EARLY FOR FELINE LEUKEMIA
MANHATTAN
-- As HIV does in people, the feline leukemia virus inserts
a copy of its DNA into a cat's cells. These cells may later be transformed
into cancer cells or cells that no longer function normally.
Dr.
Kenneth Harkin, associate professor of clinical sciences at Kansas
State University's College of Veterinary Medicine, said any cat
can be affected, but chances decrease as the cat grows older.
"If
they are less than 8 weeks old and get exposed to the virus, the
chances of contracting it are close to 100 percent," Harkin
said. "Under 1 year in age, cats have a 70 percent chance of
contracting the virus if exposed. In adult cats, the risk drops
to less than 20 percent if exposed. Generally, cats have become
better at developing an immune response at this age."
Harkin
said some symptoms of the feline leukemia virus, or FeLV, can include
weakness and/or difficulty eating or breathing. He also said the
infection may be characterized by large lymph nodes and a "scraggly"
coat.
Harkin
said three major disease categories associated with FeLV are lymphosarcoma,
the leukemias and a variety of non-cancerous diseases.
Lymphosarcoma
is the most common. Cats with the feline leukemia virus have approximately
a 60-fold higher risk of developing this cancer compared to uninfected
cats, Harkin said.
Lymphosarcoma
is a cancer that begins in lymphoid tissue, such as a lymph node.
Almost any tissue can be affected by the cancer. Organs commonly
affected include lymph nodes, intestinal tract, kidneys, liver,
spinal cord, brain, bone marrow and blood.
The
leukemias are cancers of the white blood cells. Leukemia was the
first cancer linked with FeLV.
Other
non-cancerous diseases vary. Anemia and immune suppression are examples,
Harkin said. When the immune system is suppressed, mild diseases
can become potentially fatal.
Harkin
said a cat can be exposed to feline leukemia in one of two ways:
from mother cat to kitten, or from cat to cat.
If
a mother cat is infected, her kittens can be infected while in the
womb or through milk after birth. Harkin said the odds are that
most kittens will be infected if the mother cat is infected.
Harkin
said it is more difficult for cats to contract the virus from cat
to cat. He said the most common way the virus passes from cat to
cat is through saliva in feeding dishes.
Harkin
said the most important step an owner can take to prevent a cat
being infected with the feline leukemia virus is to test the cat
before bringing it into his or her household.
"There
is no reason to vaccinate a cat that lives indoors by itself or
with other FeLV-negative cats. You need to know the FeLV status
of a new cat before you introduce it to your other cats," Harkin
said. "The key is to have your cat in a closed-colony environment
where it could not possibly come into contact with infected cats.
This leaves no chance for infection with the virus."
If
the cat tests negative but will be moving into an open-colony household
-- a household where cats go inside and outside -- Harkin said the
cat should be vaccinated. However, he said this option is not as
ideal as keeping the cat in a closed-colony environment and not
vaccinating.
"Vaccination
is not 100 percent effective and can result in vaccine-induced sarcoma,
or a type of cancer," Harkin said. "Although the chance
is relatively low, it would be better to keep your cat in a closed
colony and not take any chances."
Treatments
for the feline leukemia virus vary depending on the disease. However,
even with treatment, Harkin said the survival times for cats infected
with FeLV are short.
If
your cat is infected with FeLV, Harkin said to be sure it doesn't
come into contact with other cats.
"The
best thing is to keep it exclusively indoors and isolate it from
other cats in your household. Letting an infected cat go outdoors
increases the risk of it contracting other infectious diseases that
may be fatal," Harkin said. "The infected cat has the
best chance of long-term survival indoors. We also want to minimize
the potential spread of FeLV to other cats."
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