[Felvtalk] Positive cats

[Margo]

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%09&pageID=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 cultured 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 <felinerescue at frontier.com>
>Sent: May 28, 2015 5:05 PM
>To: felvtalk at 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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