nef@calmasd.Prime.COM (Nancy Fox) (07/07/89)
A friend of mine recently had her cat diagnosed with feline AIDS. I've not heard of this. Does anyone know if this is a virus related to the human AIDS virus? Do you know how it is transmitted? Is it possible to transmit the virus from human to cat or vice versa? Does it transmit easily from cat to cat (she has 8 other cats). Any info you can send me would be appreciated. Nancy
Gjoseph.Peck@ncar.UCAR.EDU (Gjoseph Peck) (07/10/89)
NF> From: nef@calmasd.Prime.COM (Nancy Fox)
NF> A friend of mine recently had her cat diagnosed
NF> with feline AIDS. I've not heard of this. Does
NF> anyone know if this is a virus related to the
NF> human AIDS virus? Do you know how it is transmitted?
NF> Is it possible to transmit the virus from human to
NF> cat or vice versa? Does it transmit easily from
NF> cat to cat (she has 8 other cats). Any info
NF> you can send me would be appreciated.
Nancy...
We had a cat that was diagnosed by our veterinarian <sp?> as "having feline
AIDS." The doc ran the cat through test after test after test - kept it there
for about 10 days, filled it with vitamins and antibiotics, and cautioned us
about bringing it home with our other cats (we had 3 others at the time)
because he felt it was highly contagious.
*I* got totally upset with the doctors treatment of the cat - and the HUGE
amount he charged us for the tests - and stoutly opposed the bill he rendered
when done. (I STILL do)
The cat was good for awhile - then slowly weakened and finally, staring into
nothingness, passed away. Of our 3 other cats, none of them came down with it
and we've since added 2 others. All the cats are healthy and none of 'em
contracted anything near resembling what the first died with.
Bottom line - from *MY* end - is that it was just a ruse by the Veterinarian
<sp?> to cover his lack of knowledge of WHAT it was and a "catch-all" to cover
the costs for testing...
Now... that's only from OUR end... maybe other's out here have had other
experiences...
Ci'ao for Ni'ao
-Joe-
--
Uucp: ...{gatech,ames,rutgers}!ncar!noao!asuvax!stjhmc!413!Gjoseph.Peck
Internet: Gjoseph.Peck@f413.n114.z1.fidonet.orgmerrill@bucasb.BU.EDU (John Merrill) (07/11/89)
GJP> Gjoseph Peck NF> From: nef@calmasd.Prime.COM (Nancy Fox) NF> A friend of mine recently had her cat diagnosed NF> with feline AIDS. I've not heard of this. Does NF> anyone know if this is a virus related to the NF> human AIDS virus? Do you know how it is transmitted? NF> Is it possible to transmit the virus from human to NF> cat or vice versa? Does it transmit easily? GJP> <gives anecdote about cat with "feline AIDS"> GJP> Bottom line - from *MY* end - is that it was just a ruse by the GJP> Veterinarian <sp?> to cover his lack of knowledge of WHAT it was GJP> and a "catch-all" to cover the costs for testing... In fact, Feline Leukemia (sometimes referred to as "Feline AIDS") is a well-known, and, unfortunately, highly contagious disease of cats. It differs from human AIDS in several ways: its contagiousness, its spectrum of susceptible animals (not including humans, thank God!), and its preventability (there are some vaccines against the disease, although none of them is 100% effective). Like human AIDS, feline leukemia impoverishes the immune system of its host, leaving the cat susceptible to various cancers (in particular, leukemia, although that's actually a rather rare side effect), and opportunistic infections. Cats infected with the virus usually are totally asymptomatic for several years before they appear ill, and then gradually decline into death. There does not appear to be any treatment for the disease at this time, although there are some strategies for extending the lives of afflicted animals. As Gjoseph found, they aren't terribly successful. But your friend is herself in no danger from the animal, since the disease is not contagious to humans. The virus is totally unlike either HIV-1 or HIV-2, although it has some interesting similarities (a highly variable protein coat a small portion of which is conserved, for instance). The virus is transmitted by contact with the stool of infected animals, and by blood-blood contact (ie. fighting). It would be wise for the owner to test any other cats in the same household. If any of them are still negative for infection, they should be vaccinated against the disease. The vaccination is not completely effective, but it's better than nothing. -- John Merrill | ARPA: merrill@bucasb.bu.edu Center for Adaptive Systems | 111 Cummington Street | Boston, Mass. 02215 | Phone: (617) 353-5765
binkley@ncar.UCAR.EDU (Jon Binkley) (07/11/89)
Feline leukemia makes cats immuno-deficient, is always fatal, is highly contagious (among cats only!), and is now preventable. Could this be what the cat actually has? It would not suprise me if the brainless news media or some condescending vetranarians would refer to it as feline AIDS. There is a vaccination series consisting of 3 initial shots followed by a yearly booster which prevents feline leukemia. Jon Binkley
jeffw@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU (Jeffrey Ward) (07/11/89)
I suspect that the recent discussion of feline AIDS refers in fact
to a disease that has been known as "feline leukemia" as well.
This disease is actually neither AIDS-related nor leukemia-related,
and the names reflect the symptoms of the disease rather than the
cause. The actual disease is Feline Infectious Peritonitis, and
it gradually destroys the body's ability to replace or produce
various blood components, resulting in leukemia-like symptoms and
a gradual loss of immunological defenses. Cats infected with FIP
often develop cancerous tumors.
The etiology of the disease is well-known and has little use for
AIDS research. It is incurable although it can go into remission.
I don't know why some veterinarians insist on using inappropriate
analogies when describing animal diseases.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jeffrey Ward {pacbell,mtxinu,pyramid,sun}!sybase!jeffw
Sybase, Inc. jeffw@sybase.com
6475 Christie Avenue
Emeryville, CA 94608
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------HAMER@VCUVAX (ROBERT M. HAMER) (07/12/89)
Gjoseph Peck writes: >We had a cat that was diagnosed by our veterinarian <sp?> as "having feline >AIDS." The doc ran the cat through test after test after test - kept it there >for about 10 days, filled it with vitamins and antibiotics, and cautioned us >about bringing it home with our other cats (we had 3 others at the time) >because he felt it was highly contagious. > >*I* got totally upset with the doctors treatment of the cat - and the HUGE >amount he charged us for the tests - and stoutly opposed the bill he rendered >when done. (I STILL do) > >The cat was good for awhile - then slowly weakened and finally, staring into >nothingness, passed away. Of our 3 other cats, none of them came down with it >and we've since added 2 others. All the cats are healthy and none of 'em >contracted anything near resembling what the first died with. > >Bottom line - from *MY* end - is that it was just a ruse by the Veterinarian ><sp?> to cover his lack of knowledge of WHAT it was and a "catch-all" to cover >the costs for testing... This may come across as a flame, but it is not meant to be. However, I can't figure out how else to say the things I want to say, Anyway, George: Great. Sounds like your vet was right on the money with a diagnosis whether he called it feline leukemia or feline AIDS. Sounds like that's what your cat had and that's what your cat died of. What's your beef against the vet? You probably went in to see the vet with a sick cat about whom you cared, and implied as do we all when faced with a similar situation, "find out what's wrong, fix it, expense doesn't matter, full speed ahead." So the vet found out what was wrong, there was nothing he could do to fix it, and you got a bill for the work he or she went through finding out what was wrong. You get what you pay for and you pay for what you get. Next time a pet gets sick be sure to inform the vet you want the cut-rate second-rate treatment before you bring the pet in so the vet know how to work. This reminds me of people who feel sick, go to the hospital and get worked up, stay several days, get lots of tests, run up lots of bills, and are told they are healthy. One often hears them complain about all the money spent to find out that they are healthy. Personally, I'd rather spend a bunch of money and find out I'm healthy than spend the same amount of money and find out I'm going to die.