Vaccination can now stave off dreaded feline leukemia virus

Cats are our most popular animal friends. They very often simply arrive on our doorstep and proceed to take over our homes and our hearts.  

They are spunky and tenacious, but they have a deadly enemy which we call feline leukemia virus.

 Feline leukemia virus infection often causes an acquired immune deficiency syndrome in the cat. This can open the door to many different disease conditions because the cat loses its ability to fight off the bacteria and viruses that it contacts every day.

 While cats may experience a white-cell cancer similar to the leukemia syndrome of man, more often feline leukemia causes the cat to lose weight and strength.  The cat may then succumb to a secondary disease such as pneumonia or infectious anemia.

 Feline leukemia virus has never been shown to cause leukemia or AIDS in man.

Unlike leukemia in man, feline leukemia virus infection is contagious. It is spread from cat to cat by direct contact.  

The infected cat may show problems soon after exposure or it may go for years as a carrier (spreading infection) before the cat has visible problems itself.

 Somewhere between 10 and 15 percent of the cat population carry the leukemia virus. This presents a threat to any pet cat having contact with cats outside.

 Just as in most viral infections in man, medicine has a very limited ability to alter the course of this disease.

 Fortunately, a vaccine has been developed that gives us a chance to prevent feline leukemia virus infection.  

The vaccine is initially given in a series of two injections during a period of about one month. The animal then gets a booster vaccination each year to keep up its immunity.

 Vaccination is of no benefit to the cat that is already a leukemia virus carrier.  The vaccine must be given to a leukemia-free animal if there is the hope of preventing the disease.

 By using the vaccine, we can give our cats the chance to avoid a disease that had been usually regarded as hopeless.

(Dr. Fred Conkel is a veterinarian at Westgate Veterinary Clinic.)