REGRESSIVE FELINE LEUKEMIA VIRUS INFECTIONS - WHAT DO THEY MEAN?

摘要

Since the invention ot highly sensitive polymerase chain reaction (rCK) assays, cats with regressive reline leukemia virus (FeLV) infection (that are FeLV antigen-negative and FeLV PCR-positive) are commonly detected, but their role is not well understood. It is currently discussed, how common these regressive infections are, how often they are reactivated, and which clinical signs they can cause. Although FeLV infection is less commonly diagnosed than in the previous 20 years and prevalence of FeLVantigen-positive cats has been decreasing in most countries, the importance of FeLV as a pathogen is likely underestimated as it has been shown that regressively infected cats (that are negative in routinely used antigen FeLV tests) also can develop clinical signs.