Hi Lorrie,
What approximate age were they when tested? Just a single snap
(Elisa) test? No confirmation? I have come to the conclusion that a negative
subsequent to a positive result is pretty unreliable, because thru personal
experience I have had cats that tested negative multiple times, and no
possibility of exposure after that break positive. I'm going with the 2008
information on the subject from DVM (
http://veterinarycalendar.dvm360.com/testing-kittens-felv-and-fiv-proceedings?id=sk=date=%0A%09%09%09pageID=2
);
Ideas on possible outcomes of infection with FeLV are currently undergoing
re-evaluation. In the past, it was believed that about 1/3 of cats became
persistently viremic and about 2/3 would clear infection. New research using
PCR technologies suggests that most cats remain infected for life following
exposure to FeLV. However, they may revert to a non-viremic state that is
termed regressive infection. In regressive infections, there is no antigen
present in the blood and virus cannot be cultured from blood. But FeLV proviral
DNA can be detected in blood using PCR (Pepin, Tandon et al. 2007). The
significance of PCR-positive but antigen-negative regressive infections is not
yet clear. These cats are unlikely to shed infectious virus in saliva, but may
transmit proviral DNA via blood transfusion if used as a blood donor. Prior to
the advent of PCR technology, the term latency was used for antigen-negative
cats where virus could not be cultured from blood, but could be cultur
ed from bone marrow or other tissues. It now appears that latency is a phase
through which cats pass during regressive infection.
But, if they were not confirmed as kittens, there is a possibility
that the results were false.
And I'm with you. I don't re-test unless/until there's a reason to
do so. Stress is the enemy...
HTH,
Margo
-Original Message-
From: Lorrie felineres...@frontier.com
Sent: May 28, 2015 5:05 PM
To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
Subject: [Felvtalk] Positive cats
Has anyone in the group had a cat or cats who tested positive on a
snap test 7 years ago (as kittens) and are still in apparent good
health? I have two ferals who tested positive and both are still
doing fine. I have not had them retested due to their being feral
as I'm afraid the stress of a vet visit will affect their immune
systems.
Lorrie
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