Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Blood test differences in cats with FIV or FeLV infections
By Gleich, S & Hartmann, K·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2009·Clinic of Small Animal Internal Medicine, Germany·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Hematology and serum biochemistry of feline immunodeficiency virus-infected and feline leukemia virus-infected cats.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A study looked at blood tests from over 3,700 cats to see how feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline leukemia virus (FeLV) affect health. Cats with FeLV often had low red blood cell counts (anemia), low platelet counts (thrombocytopenia), and other blood issues, while FIV-infected cats showed fewer problems. This means that while both viruses can affect a cat's health, FeLV tends to cause more serious blood-related issues. If your cat has been diagnosed with either virus, it's important to monitor their blood health regularly with your vet.
People also search for: cat FIV symptoms · cat FeLV treatment · blood tests for cats with leukemia
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Hematological and biochemical values in cats naturally infected by feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) or feline leukemia virus (FeLV) are not completely documented. OBJECTIVE: Report differences in laboratory values between FIV- or FeLV-infected and noninfected and between FIV- and FeLV-infected cats. ANIMALS: Three thousand seven hundred and eighty client-owned cats tested for FIV and FeLV. METHODS: Retrospective study. Evaluation of clinicopathologic changes in cats with defined FIV and FeLV status and for which laboratory data were available. RESULTS: FIV-infected cats were more likely to be neutropenic (odds ratio [OR]=3.6, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 2.1-6.2, P < .0001) and had lower serum activities of aspartate aminotransferase and glutamate dehydrogenase than control cats; serum total protein (8.1 +/- 1.1 versus 7.6 +/- 1.3 g/dL, P < .001) and gamma-globulin concentrations (2.2 +/- 1.1 versus 1.7 +/- 1.3 g/dL, P < .001) were higher than in uninfected cats. Compared with controls, FeLV-infected cats had a higher risk of anemia (OR = 3.8, 95% CI 2.4-6.0, P < .0001), thrombocytopenia (OR = 5.0, 95% CI 3.0-8.4, P < .0001), neutropenia (OR = 3.6, 95% CI 2.1-6.1, P < .0001), lymphocytosis (OR = 2.8, 95% CI 1.6-4.8, P= .0002), and lower erythrocyte counts (6.13 +/- 2.95 x 10(3) versus 8.72 +/- 2.18 x 10(3)/microL, P < .001), thrombocyte counts (253.591 +/- 171.841 x 10(3) versus 333.506 +/- 156.033 x 10(3)/microL, P < .001), hematocrit (28.72 +/- 12.86 versus 37.67 +/- 8.90%, P < .001), hemoglobin and creatinine concentration. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Hematologic abnormalities are common in FeLV-infected but not in FIV-infected cats. Clinicopathologic abnormalities are less frequent in FIV-infected cats and might reflect an unspecific immunologic response.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19645840/