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Biology 103
2000 First Web Report
On Serendip
The feline leukemia virus, or FeLV as it is commonly known, is a very deadly and easily transmitted disease. FeLV is so dangerous because the virus is spread through the saliva and tears of cats
Once a cat has become infected with the virus there are a series of treatments that may help the cat recover. It is crucial that the cat receives treatment ASAP. The word leukemia means cancer of the white blood cells. When the virus enters the blood stream the virus may be treatable until the virus infects organs such as the lymph nodes, intestinal tract, kidneys, liver, spinal cord, brain, bone marrow and blood
In the primary stage of infection, there currently exist two FeLV tests. The first of these is called ELISA which detects the presence of the virus in the blood stream and in the bone marrow. The second test is called IFA. This test shows whether or not the virus has reached the second stage when the bone marrow is permanently infected. On many occasions the tests results are not the same. This results from the fact that the tests detect the virus at overlapping stages. Thus, if the ELISA test is negative, it is possible that the virus has moved to the bone marrow and will be detected with the IFA test
The worst aspect of Feline Leukemia is that there is currently no cure. It is true that there exists a chemotherapeutic treatment that can produce a temporary remission in some cats. This therapy allows the cat to live normally for a period of several weeks to several months. It should be stressed that the chemotherapy can be very stressful on the infected cat and that these treatments are only temporary. The only cause the symptoms to go into remission. The therapy is not a permanent cure. Other treatments include massive dosages of vitamin C in an effort to help the immune system fight off infection. Another possibility is steroid treatment. A steroid called prednisolone decreases the numbers of some circulating white blood cells. A cat with FeLV might have many cancerous blood cells circulating in the blood stream and the steroid would decrease the number of cancerous cells
However, there are some statistics that are leading scientists to believe there may be a natural immunity to the virus in some cats. First of all, 30% of exposed cats do not become infected and approximately 60% of exposed cats do not die from the virus. For example, if 100 adult cats were exposed to the virus, 30 would not be infected. Of the 70 cats infected 35 would be immune. The remaining infected 35 cats, who are not immune, would eventually die of the disease
3)The Animal Health Index Web Site, This site contains a lot of practical information about feline leukemia that is easy to read and understand
4)
WWW Sources
1) Cornell Veterinary Medicine Web site
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