| Thanks to the FELINER who sent me the text of the article from
the Telegraph. I have entered it below:
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"AIDS strikes feline population"
by Andrew Wolfe
Telegraph staff, reprinted without permission
Here's the bad news: cats can get AIDS.
Here's the good news: people can't get it from cats, nor can
cats get the disease from people.
Feline AIDS, known formally as Feline Immunodeficiency Syndrome
(FIS), was first identified in 1987, according to reports by the
Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine.
Like human AIDS, there is no cure for the virus which causes
Feline AIDS, and it is believed to be fatal, in the long run,
without exception.
The disease is believed to have been around since the late 1960s,
and though not powerfully cotagious, it is believed to be fairly
widespread amount the United States cat population.
"I've been seeing immuno-suppressed cats for years," said John
Gleason, a doctor of veterinary medicine at Amherst Animal Hospital.
Tests to identify Feline AIDS became available only a year ago,
Gleason said. In the past 10 months, he said, he has tested 210
cats for both the Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) and the feline
leukemia virus (known Feline T-lymphotrophic Lentivirus, of FTLV).
Of the 210 cats, 15 tested positive for feline leukemia. Eleven
tested positive for Feline AIDS, but two of those cats, a pair of
4 week old kittens, later tested negative, leaving a total of nine
cats infected with FIV. Two cats tested positive for both Feline
AIDS and feline leukemia, Gleason said.
"We don't see a lot of it (Feline AIDS). We see a lot more FTLV
(feline leukemia)," said Janet Merrill, veterinarian at the Wilton
Animal Hospital. The Wilton Animal Hospital has seen about six
Feline AIDS cases in the past year, Merrill said.
"It is not rampant. It's not an epidemic," Gleason said. "The
most important thing to stress is prevention."
Feline AIDS seems to be spread mainly -- probably exclusively --
by biting, veterinarians said.
"It (virus) probably has to be almost innoculated in," by the
cat's tooth Gleason said.
Cats that fight are susceptible to Feline AIDS; cats which
stay indoors and never encountered hostile, aggressive cats are
pretty safe, veterinarians agreed.
The disease is most prevalent among male cats, which tend to
be more aggressive, Gleason said.
Because the disease has been found in neutered males and
females, however, veterinarians are confident it is not spread by
sexual contact or mating between cats.
Though the Feline AIDS virus is found in both the blood and
saliva, veterinarians say it does not seem to be spread through
"casual contact," such as sharing a water dish or grooming.
"If you have a cat that's totally indoors, never sees the
outdoors...if it never sees another cat then the risk of infection
is extremely small," Merrill said.
Gleason recommends testing all pet cats for both Feline AIDS and
Feline leukemia, and vaccinating them for the latter. No vaccine
exists for Feline AIDS.
"It is kind of like the AIDS virus, in that this is something
relatively new. It's not like small pox or something," Merrill
said. "A lot of the stuff associated with it isn't really well
known."
As with AIDS in humans, the Feline AIDS virus attacks the immune
system, making the cat more susceptible to other illnesses, mainly
various infections.
Cats infected eith the virus may show no symptoms at all, as the
virus can remain dormant for a long time. Its possible some cats
infected with the virus may never develop the disease, veterin-
arians say.
"Its a latent disease. If a cat tests positive, it may be weeks,
months or years before it develops clinical symptoms, just like
human AIDS," Gleason said. "Most of the cats we've seen (which
are infected), very few are clinically ill.
"This virus is very similar to the human virus," Gleason said.
"The two diseases are very similar."
There are numerous possible symptoms of Feline AIDS, Gleason and
Merrill said. The most common indicator is abcesses or infected
wounds, which keep recurring. Normally a cat would fight off the
infection within about two weeks, they say.
"Cats that we see, that we suspect it in are cats that have
repeated infections," Merrill said.
Similarly, it is common for cats to get respiratory infections.
The symptoms, similar to a common cold, include runny eyes and/or
nose, wheezing and sneezing. If the cat does not shake the
infection after a few weeks, however, something is amiss, Gleason
and Merrill said.
Other symptoms might include a persistant fever; anemia (low white
blood cell count), signaled by red, raw gums; swollen lymph nodes
(like on people, the easiest place to check is the jowls, under
the lower jaw); infected mouth or nose (with severe bad breth and
puss present); vomiting; appetite and weight loss; and generally
shabby appearance of the cat's coat.
As the disease progresses, Gleason said, it may cause brain damage
but such cases are fairly rare.
If a cat is tested positive for Feline AIDS, Gleason said, it does
not necessarilly need to be put to sleep. He might recommend
euthanasia in some cases, he said, but the secondary infections
caused by the virus can generally be treated, usually with
prolonged antibiotics. Blood transfusions or diet supplements
may also be used.
An infected cat poses a threat to other cats only if it fights, so
infected cats should be kept indoors, he said. It can be kept with
healthy cats so long as they get along reasonably well.
"Different people are willing to accept different risks," Gleason
said.
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