Acyclovir is used in cats as well, though not everyday like Lysine is. On Mon, Jan 26, 2009 at 11:38 AM, <[email protected]> wrote:
> In human medicine (I would have to research veterinary but they generally > follow human trends) herpes virus is better treated with something like > ganciclovir or acyclovir. > > Jenny > ---- catatonya <[email protected]> wrote: > > Do you think AZT could be used for cats with the herpes virus? > > tonya > > > > [email protected] wrote: > > Graca, > > > > Hello. I responded to your email earlier but had some problems with my > email and am not sure if you received it. This is basically what I said. If > you get two emails for this sorry. > > > > AZT is an antiviral used in human medicine to treat HIV. It is generally > used in combination with other antivirals. Unfortunately, these combinations > of antivirals have not been found to be effective against felv in cats. At > least there are no good studies to support that. > > > > AZT is often not used or stopped in people because it often causes anemia > and bone marrow toxicity. This is a very widely known side effect of AZT. > For this reason, I would listen to the vet that suggests stopping the AZT. > > > > Since anemia can be a common symptom of felv and your cat is experiencing > it. It is either because of progression of the felv disease or a side effect > of the drugs. If it is the drug, stop giving it and the anemia should > improve (this can be monitored by looking at the blood for reticulocytes - > which are like baby red blood cells and indicate that the bone marrow is > trying to fix the anemia - this is a good sign). If it is the felv disease > progressing than the AZT is not really helping you anyway and there isn't > much reason to continue giving it. > > > > If you want to continue to treat the felv virus, there is a lot of buzz > about something called Imulan. It is the first FDA approved drug for the > treatment of felv/fiv in the United States. You may want to ask your vet > about this possibility. It may be beneficial to stop your current meds and > try this. I don't know. It would be trial and error. Keep in mind that > anemia and bone marrow suppression in a felv positive cat is a poor > prognostic sign. > > > > In general, if it were me, I would stop the AZT and watch for improvement > of the anemia. I may add Imulan (I have no experience with this drug yet), > would consider a blood transfusion, from an immunized cat, if the anemia is > significant enough and transfer factor if there is GI upset. > > > > Hope this helps. > > > > Jenny > > ---- Graca Azevedo wrote: > > > > > Dear All, > > > > I was so upset with my sick cat that I did not introduce myself as new to > list a few days ago. I do apologize. I am writing from Brazil, have two > rescued cats. One of them is Felv+. He has been treated on AZT and > interferon for 2 years and half. The virus reached his bone marrow and he > has anemia. Two vets have examined him. One said that I should stop with > the AZT and the other advised to continue. I failed to find on the mail > archives any report on cats being treated with AZT. > > I would be most grateful to hear what any of you have to say. > > > > Regards, > > > > Graça Azevedo > > > > > > Veja quais são os assuntos do momento no Yahoo! +Buscados > > http://br.maisbuscados.yahoo.com > > _______________________________________________ > > Felvtalk mailing list > > [email protected] > > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Felvtalk mailing list > > [email protected] > > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Felvtalk mailing list > > [email protected] > > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org > > > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > [email protected] > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org > _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list [email protected] http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
