Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How well does the feline leukemia vaccine protect kittens exposed
By Legendre, A M et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·1990·College of Veterinary Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Efficacy of a feline leukemia virus vaccine in a natural exposure challenge.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of kittens was tested for the effectiveness of a feline leukemia virus (FeLV) vaccine after being exposed to an infected cat. Twenty-three vaccinated kittens and 14 unvaccinated littermates lived in an environment with a FeLV-positive cat for six months. Unfortunately, 70% of the vaccinated kittens and 64% of the unvaccinated ones still became infected, and the mortality rates were similar between both groups. This suggests that the vaccine may not provide sufficient protection in real-world situations.
People also search for: cat leukemia vaccine effectiveness · kitten FeLV exposure · feline leukemia virus symptoms · vaccinated kitten infection rates
Abstract
A commercial feline leukemia virus (FeLV) vaccine was evaluated in a natural exposure system. All kittens were negative for FeLV antigen on two enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) tests and one indirect immunofluorescence antibody (IFA) test before vaccination or exposure. Twenty-three kittens were vaccinated subcutaneously at nine and 12 weeks of age. The vaccinated kittens and 14 unvaccinated littermates were housed in an infected environment starting at 14 weeks. The kittens were exposed for 24 weeks by living in a large room with one feline leukemia virus-positive, asymptomatic adult cat for each five kittens. Sixty-four percent of the unvaccinated kittens and 70% of the vaccinated kittens became infected as determined by ELISA. Forty-three percent of unvaccinated kittens and 39% of vaccinated kittens died. There was no difference between the infection and mortality of vaccinated kittens that developed antibodies to anti-FeLV glycoprotein 70-envelope antigen and those that did not. Consideration should be given to evaluation of feline leukemia virus vaccines using "street" virus in a natural exposure system.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2160531/