[Felvtalk] Interferon Alpha,

Tue Jun 3 15:17:19 CDT 2014

Don’t worry. Your vet would have to order any of these drugs for you, so you won’t be the only one involved in the decision. 

Here in America, we still have vets who advocate euthanizing these cats. If I had euthanized my Ember when I discovered she was FeLV+, I would have missed out on over eight years of time with her, and she did really well for the majority of that time. 

I’m not a vet, and without knowing more, I couldn’t give much good advice, but having a red blood cell count that’s 1/3 of normal doesn’t seem like a good sign. Wally may end up needing a transfusion or Epogen (a red blood cell building drug). 

My advice:

1) Watch Wally like a hawk until you can get a better idea about his blood count over time.

2) Consider what options are available to you locally. Virbagen Omega is made in France by Virbac. It seems like it ought to be more reasonable (at least than it is here). I don’t think you would be importing it from the UK, and we know scientifically that it does *some* good.

3) Most importantly, talk to a vet who has knowledge of the disease and has treated it before. A cat clinic might be a good place to start. If your current vet knows about interferon alpha and is unsure about using it, that’s one thing. If your current vet is unfamiliar with interferon alpha or treating FeLV, that would encourage me to seek out someone with more experience and knowledge.

Best wishes for Wally.

Lance

On Jun 3, 2014, at 3:04 PM, Jetty Dijkshoorn <jdidubai at gmail.com> wrote:

> Dear Lance,
> Thanks again for all your help. I am considering to give him the Virbagen Omega. He is only a very tiny guy so the costs would be ok. My vet is not convinced about the effect of interferon and that in respect to the total cost, he wanted to try the cheaper way first.  Wally is really doing ok now but the vet told me that his red blood cel value was only 1/3 of the normal value. But any way I see a lot of progression in his behaviour and his looks since the day he came. I think I will wait for this cure to end and then take a decision on the interferon. One of my nephews is a vet, think I could try to get it through him. I am a bit scared to take my own decision on this behind the back of my vet. 
> 
> 
> 
> 2014-06-03 20:56 GMT+02:00 Lance <linimon at fastmail.fm>:
> You’re welcome. I only wish I could help more.
> 
> 30ml of interferon alpha costs me about $45 in the US. That includes shipping, I think. 
> 
> How is the tomcat’s anemia? Did the vet run new blood work to see if his feeling better correlates to a rise in red blood cell values?
> 
> Interferon alpha could be expensive over the long run, just because you (or the new owner) would be buying it monthly. If I was in your situation (particularly being in Europe), and my cat had presented with anemia, I would look into Virbagen Omega instead. This drug is available in France, so it seems like it should be available throughout western and central Europe. 
> 
> Virbagen Omega is made for cats, and according to the literature we have, it makes a difference in survival time. Interferon alpha is a human drug, and the only evidence we have that it helps is anecdotal, not scientific. I’m not saying it doesn’t help. I just lost my FeLV+ girl, Ember, who had the virus for a minimum of eight years, and she did very well. I used interferon alpha on her. But, Virbagen Omega is not available here, and it costs a lot of money to get it sent over, so we used what was available.
> 
> Bottom line: I’m encouraging you to see if you can get Virbagen Omega in the Netherlands. If you can, and if the price-to-dose isn’t prohibitive, it would seem (according to what the literature says) that you would be better off giving the tomcat the limited number of doses of Virbagen Omega as opposed to keeping him on interferon alpha from here on out. But you (and the new owner) must do what feels right and what makes sense. 
> 
> If your vet is uncertain about interferon alpha and unfamiliar with Virbagen Omega, I would call around to find someone who has more experience. At the least, you could consult with them and get a “second opinion”. 
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> Lance
> 
> On Jun 3, 2014, at 12:12 PM, Jetty Dijkshoorn <jdidubai at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> Hi Lance,
>> 
>> thanks so much for your reply, very much appreciated. I checked on the internet and found 10 ug at eur 152,00 at a webshop. Is that a price which sounds reasonable to you as I have no clue at all. Talked to my vet this afternoon and he was not that positive about using interferon. Wallie seems to be doing right now he is eating a lot and is feelling much better than when I let him in. The vet prescribed him antibiotics and a prednisone treatment. If necessary will give him this interferom as well,
>> 
>> Waiting for your feedback,
>> 
>> Kind regards,
>> Jetty Dijkshoorn
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 2014-06-03 18:12 GMT+02:00 Lance <linimon at fastmail.fm>:
>> Hi Jetty,
>> 
>> You might check here for interferon alpha: http://www.roadrunnerpharmacy.com
>> 
>> Road Runner is an American pharmacy that specializes in medicine for animals. I have ordered interferon alpha from them a number of times.
>> 
>> I am surprised that interferon alpha, a human product, would be prohibitively expensive in the Netherlands, as it seems to be widely used and produced. I’m hoping that someone there can get it for you cheaper than it would cost to have it shipped overseas. 
>> 
>> I would seriously consider looking into Virbagen Omega, a feline recombinant interferon. It will be expensive, though it should be somewhat cheaper than it is for Americans (we need it flown overseas, overnight. VO is not given all the time. Usually, the doses are given over several weeks’ time, then the drug is discontinued. 
>> 
>> Virbagen Omega is the only treatment that has been proven to positively affect the course of the disease. All other drugs, including interferon alpha, have not shown any efficacy in scientific trials. See the Retrovirus Guidelines document available here:
>> 
>> http://www.catvets.com/guidelines/practice-guidelines/retrovirus-management-guidelines
>> 
>> Best wishes and hopes for you and your tomcat friend,
>> 
>> Lance
>> 
>> On Jun 3, 2014, at 6:45 AM, Jetty Dijkshoorn <jdidubai at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>>> Good day to you,
>>> 
>>>  I am new to your forum. 2 weeks ago a sweet tomcat decided that he wanted to join our group of 6 cats. Since umber 7 seemed a bit too much I found him a new owner but before given her this lovely guy. I went for a check up at the vet. He saw that he suffered from amnesia and tested him on feline leukemia and unfortunately this test turned out positive. As he is doing much better now than 2 weeks ago. He gained a  lot of weight and starts playing again I want to try to keep him healthy as long as possible. Looking for medicatons I landed on your very informational website. I think I want to start by giving him interferon alpha but this is very expensive in my country.
>>> 
>>> I saw that a liquid interferoon should not be that expensive, but the island pharmacy website is no longer in the air. Have you got another company and website where I could buy this medication? If I go for treatment in the Netherlands it will cost me 5 times as much.
>>> 
>>> Thank you for your advise and keep up the good work.
>>> 
>>> Jetty Dijkshoorn
>>> Holland
>>> jdidubai at dubai.com
>>> 
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