----- Original Message ----- From: "Gloria B. Lane" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, December 08, 2004 9:03 AM Subject: Re: contagiousness of FELV and other thoughts.../strain
> I appreciate the thoughtfulness of what you've written so much. I've > mixed FELV with negatives, no prob. But always a question - shudder. > > Have wondered for some time about strains. Does anybody know if > there's an available test for the strain of FELV? > > Gloria Hi Gloria, I'm new to the group; I hope you don't mind if I butt in. The differences in the outcome of FeLV infection can be attributed to differences in virus subgroups that may be considered strains. FeLV-A, FeLV-B, and FeLV-C. Only FeLV-A is transmitted contagiously among cats. FeLV-B or -C are generated de novo by recombination between endogenous FeLV sequences and the infecting FeLV-A. FeLV-B and FeLV-C are not transmitted contagiously among cats in nature. The subgroups are determined by viral interference assays. These are highly specialized tests and usually available only in research and specialized diagnostic labs. FeLV-A occurs in all FeLV-infected cats and causes severe immunosuppression (weakened immune system). FeLV-B occurs in about 50% of all FeLV-infected cats and causes more neoplastic disease (i.e., tumors and other abnormal tissue growths) than cats infected only with FeLV-A. FeLV-C occurs in about 1% of FeLV-infected cats and causes severe anemia. hth, Ong
