cat infectious disease Flashcards
What is Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV)? what is transmission?
gamma retrovirus
primarily saliva, through social behaviours (allogrooming)
also vertical transmission
cats give ___ to their friends (allogrooming) and ____ to their enemies (blood).
FeLV, FIV
what signalments are common with FeLV? i.e When should we be worried about FeLV?
- kittens <4mo
- negative cats w/ infected cats (new cats at home)
- abscesses/bite wounds
- males
- outdoor cats
tell me about the epidemiology and pathogenesis of FeLV. like what happens to the cat once they get an infection?
FeLV exposure –> either effective immune response or ineffective immune response
effective immune response = abortive cat –> negative on all tests, lifelong protection to FeLV = healthy cat
ineffective immune response = transient viremia (infectious + shedding)–> either viremia or abortive cat
viremia either goes to healthy carrier, progressive infection, or regressive infection
progressive infection = high shedding, high incidence of disease (positive on all tests)
healthy carrier = low shedding
regressive infection = no shedding, low incidence of disease (negative on ELISA and IFA, positive proviral PCR)
regressive infection either leads to progressive infection through stress or immunosuppression, or an abortive cat through complete viral elimination
true or false: up to 70% of cats with FeLV exposure can clear virus even if they test positive initially
true
how long does the transient viremia last in FeLV? why is this important?
6-8 weeks
we retest cat after 8 weeks because they may be positive after 8 weeks even if they were negative at first
which tests are positive/negative with regressive state FeLV?
ELISA and IFA negative, proviral PCR positive
what is the difference between FeLV regressive and progressive states?
regressive: rarely develop FeLV-assoc disease, usually no bone marrow involvement, not shedding, not infectious, FeLV proviral DNA integrated into cat’s genome, can revert to progressive state with stress (less likely as time goes on), ELISA and IFA negative, proviral PCR positive
progressive: often develop FeLV-assoc disease, virus in bone marrow and multiple organs, shedding and infections, all tests positive
what are the lesions of FeLV?
- infections
- anemia
- lymphoma
- leukopenia/thrombocytopenia
- leukemia/MPD
what are the C/S of FeLV?
weight loss, fever, conjunctivitis, rhinitis, diarrhea, lymphadenopathy, stomatitis, asymptomatic
basically, if they have symptoms, they ADR
can get secondary infections/immune-mediated diseases
what are the changes on hematology with FeLV?
- regenerative or non-regenerative anemia (secondary to bone marrow suppression)
- neutropenia and lymphopenia
- thrombocytopenia or thrombocytosis
- pancytopenia
if you have a cat with an immune-mediated disease, what should you do?
test for retrovirus (FeLV)
why do cats with FeLV get neoplasia? what is the most common neoplasia?
lymphoma
insertion of FeLV genome near cellular oncogene
when should you test for FeLV and FIV?
- any sick cat
- prior to adoption
- cats recently exposed to FeLV/FIV
- outdoor urban cats
- cats with unknown FeLV status
- cats living with positive cats
you have a sick cat and you decide to test for FeLV. tell me what you do and what you will do depending on test outcomes
ELISA antigen testing (snap test)
if negative: retest if <12 weeks old or if <30 days exposure
if positive: retest in 6-8 weeks in case they clear virus
we rarely use IFA anymore. instead just redo ELISA
true or false: maternal antibodies interfere with FeLV testing
false! they do NOT interfere!
what does the FeLV ELISA snap test measure?
free soluble p27 gag protein in plasma, serum, whole blood, saliva, tears
usually positive within 30 days of viral exposure
tell me about the sensitivity and specificity of ELISA FeLV snap test
lower sensitivity (63-100%), high specificity (94-100%)
tell me about the pathogenesis of FIV. like what happens to the cat once they get an infection?
