Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Why FeLV vaccine protection is hard to prove in older cats
By Wilson, Stephen et al.·Published in BMC veterinary research·2012·Veterinary Medicine Research and Development·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Difficulties in demonstrating long term immunity in FeLV vaccinated cats due to increasing age-related resistance to infection.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of kittens received two vaccinations against feline leukemia virus (FeLV) when they were 7 to 9 weeks old. When these vaccinated cats were later exposed to the virus up to three years later, nearly all of them showed no signs of infection, indicating that the vaccine was effective. In contrast, unvaccinated kittens were more likely to become infected. This study suggests that the FeLV vaccine can provide lasting protection for cats, even as they age and develop some natural resistance to infection.
People also search for: cat leukemia vaccine effectiveness · FeLV vaccination duration · kitten vaccination schedule
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Feline leukaemia virus (FeLV) is a pathogen causing fatal illness in cats worldwide, and as such there is a high demand for products to protect against disease. The duration of immunity provided by an inactivated FeLV vaccine, Versifel FeLV, when administered to cats of the target age was determined. Kittens received two vaccinations when aged 7 to 9 weeks old, and were subsequently challenged up to 36 months later with the FeLV-A Glasgow isolate. RESULTS: In all studies, all of the younger aged control kittens showed persistent FeLV p27 antigenaemia confirming that the challenge virus was severe and efficacious. In contrast, the control cats did not show the required level of persistent antigenaemia, with a maximum of 45% cats affected in the middle duration study and only 10% in the longer study. However, apart from one animal in the short duration study, all of the cats vaccinated with Versifel FeLV were negative for persistent antigenaemia and can be considered treatment successes. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, we have shown that although age-related resistance to infection with a virulent FeLV challenge is evident from as early as 10 months of age, vaccination with Versifel FeLV may aid in the protection of cats from FeLV related disease up to three years after primary vaccination as kittens.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22839692/