• Acquired defect of cellular immunity that occurs in cats infected with feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and in some cats infected with feline leukemia virus (FeLV). (nih.gov)
  • In addition, we recommend testing all kittens for Feline Leukemia Virus (more on that later). (animalcliniceast.com)
  • Both Feline Leukemia Virus and Feline Immunodeficiency Virus are similar to HIV, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus which causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in people. (animalcliniceast.com)
  • We recommend all kittens be tested for Feline Leukemia Virus within the first few months of life. (animalcliniceast.com)
  • We also encourage testing new adult cats introduced to a home for both Feline Leukemia Virus and Feline Immunodeficiency Virus. (animalcliniceast.com)
  • injection site tumours (sarcoma, most often due to feline leukemia virus and rabies vaccines). (yourvetonline.com)
  • FIV is in the same retrovirus family as Feline leukemia virus (FeLV). (mongabay.com)
  • Other infections in cats, such as those caused by the feline leukemia virus or feline immunodeficiency virus, are not predisposing factors. (fps.vet)
  • Low levels of CD4+ and other affected immune system cells cause the cat to be susceptible to opportunistic diseases once the disease progresses to feline acquired immune deficiency syndrome (FAIDS). (wikipedia.org)
  • Finally, the cat progresses into the final stage (known as the feline acquired immune deficiency syndrome (FAIDS) stage), wherein the cat is extremely susceptible to secondary diseases that inevitably are the cause of death. (furrycritter.com)
  • Like HIV, both viruses can be transmitted from mother cats to kittens. (animalcliniceast.com)
  • All kittens who may spend even a small amount of time outdoors should be vaccinated for Feline Leukemia. (animalcliniceast.com)
  • Revolution and Frontline Plus are two excellent products used to kill fleas on kittens and adult cats. (animalcliniceast.com)
  • Similarly, kittens younger than 6 months can test positive not because they are infected, but because they acquired antibodies to the infection from their mother's milk. (chappellevet.ca)
  • Because most cases of cat-scratch disease result from contact with kittens, immunosuppressed people should avoid such contact. (snapcats.org)
  • Anti-parasite medications for kittens and annual fecal exams for adult cats can reduce environmental contamination and the risk of human infection. (snapcats.org)
  • Mucosal infection and vaccination against feline immunodeficiency virus. (nih.gov)
  • Unfortunately, there is no vaccination currently available for Feline Immunodeficiency Virus, although there is currently a great deal of research into transmission, prevention, treatment, and development of a vaccine for the virus. (animalcliniceast.com)
  • Vaccination is one of the most effective ways you can protect your cat against infectious diseases. (yourvetonline.com)
  • Occasionally a cat may suffer from anaphylaxis that can occur up to 48 hours post-vaccination. (yourvetonline.com)
  • Feline leukaemia virus was once a highly prevalent disease, which now, thanks to vaccination is a lot less common. (yourvetonline.com)
  • Vaccines or candidate vaccines containing inactivated HIV or some of its component antigens and designed to prevent or treat AIDS. (lookformedical.com)
  • There has been a great deal of evidence showing, if not direct causality, an undeniable close link between the presence of HIV and the syndrome AIDS. (documentaryheaven.com)
  • Although FIV is similar to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in people, FIV cannot be transmitted to people, and cats cannot carry HIV. (chappellevet.ca)
  • However, cats with FIV may have immune deficiencies that eventually make the cats vulnerable to the same secondary diseases that people with depressed immune systems can acquire (for example, chronic diarrhea or respiratory or skin problems that people with HIV/AIDS or individuals undergoing chemotherapy treatments can have). (chappellevet.ca)
  • GAINESVILLE, Fla. - A University of Florida researcher has discovered an unexpected link between the viruses that cause feline and human AIDS: Cats vaccinated with an experimental strain of the human AIDS virus appear to be at least as well-protected against the feline version of the disease as those immunized with the vaccine currently used by veterinarians. (mongabay.com)
  • The surprise finding may mean cats with feline immunodeficiency virus, also known as FIV or feline AIDS, could eventually be treated even more effectively using some form of the experimental human vaccine. (mongabay.com)
  • Researcher Janet Yamamoto, a professor at UF's College of Veterinary Medicine, also theorizes that these emerging relationships between the two viruses could one day lead to a vaccine for human AIDS. (mongabay.com)
  • Since its discovery in 1987, FIV infection of cats has been used in vaccine studies as a small-animal model of human AIDS. (mongabay.com)
  • We were the first to demonstrate that you can make an effective vaccine against a virus in the AIDS family of viruses," said Yamamoto, a co-discoverer of FIV. (mongabay.com)
  • To determine the extent to which the human and feline AIDS viruses react to each other, and any implications that might exist for vaccine efficacy, Yamamoto began experimenting with long-term, nonprogressive strains of FIV that led to the current commercial vaccine. (mongabay.com)
  • Therefore, protective vaccines based on cross-reactive regions of AIDS viruses can provide broad immunity, and may be useful against viruses that are currently evolving in a new host, such as HIV infection of humans," Yamamoto said. (mongabay.com)
  • Those with immature or weakened immune systems, such as infants, individuals with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), the elderly, and people undergoing cancer therapy, are more susceptible to zoonotic infections than others. (snapcats.org)
  • Infection occurs when a susceptible cat comes into contact with these infectious secretions. (yourvetonline.com)
  • It is spread to susceptible cats that are in direct contact with an infected cat, or with inanimate objects (e.g., clothing, food and water dishes, furniture, toys) that have been contaminated with viral particles. (yourvetonline.com)
  • It can weaken a cat's immune system (immunosuppression) and make the cat susceptible to other infectious organisms such as bacteria, other viruses, yeast, fungi, etc. (secondary or "opportunistic" infections). (chappellevet.ca)
  • No age predilection has been reported in ferrets or cats, but male cats have been reported to be more susceptible than females. (fps.vet)
  • Ferrets are susceptible hosts, and cats are somewhat resistant. (fps.vet)
  • Feline panleukopenia (FPV) is a highly contagious viral disease of cats caused by the feline parvovirus. (yourvetonline.com)
  • Species of the genus LENTIVIRUS, subgenus primate immunodeficiency viruses (IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUSES, PRIMATE), that induces acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in monkeys and apes (SAIDS). (lookformedical.com)
  • Proteins synthesized by HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUSES such as the HIV-1 and HIV-2 . (lookformedical.com)
  • Some compounds made from separate virus strains have been successfully used in vaccines against viruses from the same subfamily, such as smallpox in humans, which is made from cowpox virus, and human measles vaccines for canine distemper in puppies. (mongabay.com)
  • Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) is a Lentivirus that affects cats worldwide, with 2.5% to 4.4% of felines being infected. (wikipedia.org)
  • Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) is a lentivirus that affects domesticated housecats worldwide. (mongabay.com)
  • Virologists classify FIV as a lentivirus, a slow-acting organism that is in the same viral family as the potentially deadly human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), says Dr. Levy, associate professor of small animal internal medicine at the University of Floridas College of Veterinary Medicine. (catwatchnewsletter.com)
  • However, simple precautions, common sense, and good hygiene, including careful handling of litter boxes and treating cats with fleas and other parasites, can further reduce the risk of zoonotic disease. (snapcats.org)
  • Transmission of a zoonotic disease can potentially occur when a person comes into direct contact with secretions or excretions-such as saliva or feces-from an infected cat. (snapcats.org)
  • Cat-scratch disease , also called bartonellosis , is by far the most common zoonotic disease associated with cats. (snapcats.org)
  • Feline herpes virus, sometimes known as feline viral rhinotracheitis (F3 FVR) is a highly contagious disease that causes upper respiratory tract disease. (yourvetonline.com)
  • Infected cats shed the virus in their urine, stool, nasal secretions and even their fleas can aid the transmission of the virus. (yourvetonline.com)
  • Fleas in Dogs and Cats Ctenocephalides felis (cat flea) on a severely flea-infested and anemic cat. (merckvetmanual.com)
  • Many zoonotic diseases can be transmitted from fleas or ticks (called vectors) to a person or a cat from another animal. (snapcats.org)
  • However, avoiding scratches and bites (for example, by not allowing children to play roughly with cats), controlling fleas, and keeping cats indoors all reduce the risk of cat-scratch disease. (snapcats.org)
  • Fleas are the most common external parasite of cats. (snapcats.org)
  • Fleas may also serve as vectors for cat-scratch and other zoonotic diseases. (snapcats.org)
  • Flea-infested cats may become infected with tapeworms from fleas ingested while grooming. (snapcats.org)
  • FIV-positive cats can share water bowls, food bowls (for both wet and dry cat food), and use the same litter box with low danger of transmitting the disease. (wikipedia.org)
  • Vaccines are preparations that resemble infections but are not disease-causing. (yourvetonline.com)
  • For cats, keeping your cat inside rather than letting them roam outside will lower their risk of catching a disease from other cats. (yourvetonline.com)
  • reducing the risk of transmission of disease between individual cats, and between cats and other animals including humans. (yourvetonline.com)
  • Feline coronavirus is a cat-specific virus (it cannot cause disease in other animals and is NOT the same virus that causes human coronavirus Covid-19). (yourvetonline.com)
  • For some cats, the virus mutates (changes) and reacts with the cat's immune system to create a disease called FIP. (yourvetonline.com)
  • however, any cat can acquire this disease. (chappellevet.ca)
  • The disease is also rarely transmitted from an infected mother cat to her nursing kitten in the milk. (chappellevet.ca)
  • The chance that an FIV infected cat will pass the disease onto other cats within a household is less than 2% as long as there is no fighting or biting. (mongabay.com)
  • Keeping infected cats separated from disease free cats is the only sure way of preventing the spread of the disease. (mongabay.com)
  • However, unlike in domestic cats, the virus does not necessarily cause disease in these species, perhaps because these species have acquired, during evolution, mutations that confer resistance to it. (mongabay.com)
  • Her most recent studies have attempted to improve the efficacy of that vaccine by using strains of FIV found in cats in which the disease had not progressed for some reason over several years. (mongabay.com)
  • Additionally, a disease may be contracted through contact with water or food that has been contaminated by an infected cat. (snapcats.org)
  • Cat-scratch disease can occur when a person is bitten or scratched by an infected cat. (snapcats.org)
  • People with cat-scratch disease usually have swollen lymph nodes, especially around the head, neck, and upper limbs. (snapcats.org)
  • Some healthy cats are continuously or intermittently infected with cat-scratch disease bacteria, but antibiotics do not reliably cure infection in these cats and are not currently recommended. (snapcats.org)
  • Some feline intestinal parasites, including roundworms and hookworms, can also cause disease in people. (snapcats.org)
  • FIV+ cats can share water bowls, pellet bowls, eat from the same bowl of wet food, and use the same litter box with low danger of transmitting the disease. (furrycritter.com)
  • Keeping animals healthy by employing sound principles of sanitation, management and feeding and by judicious use of appropriate and dependable vaccines are the practical and economical ways to avoid losses from the disease. (genemedi.com)
  • External envelope protein of the human immunodeficiency virus which is encoded by the HIV env gene. (lookformedical.com)
  • Transmembrane envelope protein of the HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS which is encoded by the HIV env gene. (lookformedical.com)
  • FIV attacks the immune system of cats, much like the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) attacks the immune system of human beings. (mongabay.com)
  • Because biting is the most efficient means of viral transmission, free-roaming, aggressive male cats are the most frequently infected, while cats housed exclusively indoors are much less likely to be infected. (mongabay.com)
  • It has been suggested FIV originated in Africa and has since spread to feline species worldwide. (wikipedia.org)
  • FIV is known in other feline species, and in fact is endemic in some large wild cats, such as African lions. (wikipedia.org)
  • FIV can infect other feline species, and in fact in some large wild cat species, such as African lions, the virus is commonly present. (mongabay.com)
  • Mosquito vector species acquire the first stage larvae (microfilariae) while feeding on an infected host. (fps.vet)
  • The effects of Avemar treatment on feline immunodeficiency virus infected cell cultures. (nih.gov)
  • Antiviral treatment of feline immunodeficiency virus-infected cats with (R)-9-(2-phosphonylmethoxypropyl)-2,6-diaminopurine. (nih.gov)
  • Feline immunodeficiency virus neuropathogenesis: from cats to calcium. (nih.gov)
  • Vif of feline immunodeficiency virus from domestic cats protects against APOBEC3 restriction factors from many felids. (nih.gov)
  • Probing the interaction between feline immunodeficiency virus and CD134 by using the novel monoclonal antibody 7D6 and the CD134 (Ox40) ligand. (nih.gov)
  • Feline immunodeficiency virus infection: an overview. (nih.gov)
  • Feline immunodeficiency virus infection--causative agent of an acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in cats. (nih.gov)
  • FIV was first isolated in 1986, by Niels C Pedersen and Janet K. Yamamoto at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in a colony of cats that had a high prevalence of opportunistic infections and degenerative conditions and was originally called Feline T-lymphotropic virus. (wikipedia.org)
  • FIV is transmitted primarily through deep bite wounds, where the virus present in the infected cat's saliva enters the body tissues of another cat. (wikipedia.org)
  • The chance that an FIV-infected cat will pass the virus to other cats within a household is low, unless there is fighting between cats, or wounds present that could allow entry of the virus from infected to non-infected cat. (wikipedia.org)
  • The American Association of Feline Practitioners (an organization in the United States), as well as many feral cat organizations, recommends against euthanizing FIV-positive cats, or even spending funds to test for the virus. (wikipedia.org)
  • Whilst most cats eliminate FCoV after infection, some will develop a persistent infection and continue to shed large amounts of the virus in their faeces, serving as a source of infection for other cats. (yourvetonline.com)
  • The virus is transmitted between cats via contact with a cat's infected saliva and urine either directly, or by touching shared food bowls and toys. (yourvetonline.com)
  • Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) can cause an irreversible infection in cats. (chappellevet.ca)
  • Initially, for a few weeks after infection as the virus is spreading through the body, a cat may have a low-grade fever, enlarged lymph nodes, or other vague signs of illness that may never be detected. (chappellevet.ca)
  • Now she is working on an HIV vaccine consisting of HIV virus from long-term, nonprogressing individuals. (mongabay.com)
  • We found that whenever we tried using less virulent strains of virus, we were able to make a better vaccine. (mongabay.com)
  • Factors that influence the length of the asymptomatic stage include the pathogenicity of the infecting virus and FIV subtype (A-E), the age of the cat, and exposure to other pathogens. (furrycritter.com)
  • This testing identifies those cats that carry the FIV antibody but does not detect the actual virus. (furrycritter.com)
  • False positives occur when the cat carries the antibody (which is harmless) but does not carry the actual virus. (furrycritter.com)
  • Owners are urged to have their cats tested for feline immunodeficiency virus. (catwatchnewsletter.com)
  • If so, hes at especially high risk for infection with the feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), a submicroscopic, parasitic organism that can weaken his immune system and, in time, make him vulnerable to a host of opportunistic diseases. (catwatchnewsletter.com)
  • We dont know why this is, she says, but it appears that a cats immune system is better able to ward off the virus when it is sexually transmitted than when it is transmitted by biting. (catwatchnewsletter.com)
  • In most cats, however, susceptibility to opportunistic diseases increases progressively as the animals immune system is repeatedly challenged by successive episode of illness. (catwatchnewsletter.com)
  • Although sexual contact is a common mode of transmission in HIV, the same does not hold true for FIV, says Dr. Levy, despite the viruss presence in feline semen and other genital secretions. (catwatchnewsletter.com)
  • This is a relatively common infection in cats that mainly causes asymptomatic infections such as enteritis resulting in diarrhoea. (yourvetonline.com)
  • However, humans cannot be infected by FIV, nor can cats be infected by HIV. (wikipedia.org)
  • FIV is a natural infection of domestic cats that results in an immunodeficiency syndrome resembling HIV infection in humans. (mongabay.com)
  • FIV and HIV are both lentiviruses, however, neither can infect the other's usual host: humans cannot be infected by FIV nor can cats be infected by HIV. (mongabay.com)
  • While most feline infectious diseases affect only cats, and most human infectious diseases affect only humans, it is important to be aware that some of these diseases-called zoonotic diseases-can be transmitted between cats and people. (snapcats.org)
  • You are much more likely to contract ailments from other humans than you are from your cat. (snapcats.org)
  • Salmonella bacteria are more commonly harbored by cats that feed on raw meat or wild birds and animals. (snapcats.org)
  • Cats that have FIV must be kept indoors and isolated from other cats. (chappellevet.ca)
  • Feline infection can be prevented by keeping cats indoors and feeding them cooked or commercially processed food. (snapcats.org)
  • A cat cannot contract HIV from a human, and a human cannot be infected by FIV through contact with an infected cat. (catwatchnewsletter.com)
  • FIV is spread from cat to cat, primarily through bite wounds from infected cats. (chappellevet.ca)
  • And pugnacious free-roaming males are more likely, by far, than other felines to bite their sparring partners or be bitten by them. (catwatchnewsletter.com)
  • FIV can be tolerated well by cats, but can eventually lead to debilitation of the immune system in its feline hosts by the infection and exhaustion of T-helper (CD4+) cells. (wikipedia.org)
  • Yamamoto's team was also surprised to discover that a core protein found in HIV also effectively protects cats against FIV. (mongabay.com)
  • Clinical aspects of feline retroviruses: a review. (nih.gov)
  • This latent stage can last for many years before the cat shows any outward signs of illness (clinical signs or symptoms). (chappellevet.ca)
  • In companion animals, HW infection is seen primarily in dogs and less commonly in cats and ferrets. (fps.vet)
  • It is important to discuss with a vet your cat's individual circumstances to determine what vaccine schedule will suit your cat best. (yourvetonline.com)
  • Most of the risks that we see associated with vaccines depend upon the type of vaccine used, the cat's age, health status and individual response to the vaccine. (yourvetonline.com)
  • One case study conducted in São Paulo found that 75% of FIV-infected cats were males. (wikipedia.org)
  • Human infection can be prevented by wearing gloves and washing hands thoroughly after cleaning litter boxes (especially if used by a cat with diarrhea). (snapcats.org)
  • Some cats stay in this latent stage for only a few months, but for some it can last for years. (furrycritter.com)
  • In companion animals, infection risk is greatest in dogs and cats housed outdoors. (fps.vet)
  • Other cats should not be brought into the household and exposed to this cat (to prevent spreading of FIV), especially if the FIV-positive cat is resentful or aggressive toward other cat(s). (chappellevet.ca)
  • Proper hygiene, including washing hands before meals, cleaning soil from vegetables, and reducing exposure to cat feces (e.g., by covering children's sandboxes when not in use) can prevent infection. (snapcats.org)