Talk:Feline leukemia virus

Previously unsorted discussions
I'll be working on adding info to this page over the next undefined period of time... unfortunately, my one-year-old Jackson has finally developed symptoms of his FeLV, so I hope I'll be able to help someone else deal with this by creating a very accessible document like I did when Pumpkin died. No one should have to go through this blindly. Allie 04:37, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

'Progression' Section
Thanks for creating this article. Can the originator (or someone else well acquainted with the statistics in the 'Progression' section) please provide a bit of clarity in the first paragraph? I had trouble at first understanding which groups are discrete and which are part of another. If I understand it correctly, I would suggest that the third sentence be changed to read: "Of this group, sixteen percent fight it off due to minimal exposure to it." Thanks.Carlaclaws (talk) 17:40, 20 August 2008 (UTC)

I think that this section is rather out of date. I did a lot of research for the transmission and 'diagnosis and prognosis' sections and learned along the way about the current classification system for FeLV infections: progressive, abortive, regressive, and focal (see both Cornell and Merck sources now in article). Progression varies, depending on the type of infection, according to the model. As such, the entire 'Progression' section probably needs to be rewritten. If no one has done it by the next time I have a spate of wikipedia related editing energy, I'll take a pass through it. Hilaryholz (talk) 22:23, 21 May 2018 (UTC)

Symptoms and related conditions
I think this could use a section on symptoms and related symptoms. I noticed the text "A FeLV-positive cat may also have persistent gingivitis and other dental problems (persistent gingivitis is a prime symptom of FeLV and FIV)." in the section "Approved US Treatment", where it clearly doesn't belong; but I don't know enough about the subject (or Wikipedia for that matter) to make a new section. 198.150.76.150 (talk) 18:58, 20 March 2009 (UTC)

HIV connection
Right now under "Comparison with HIV" it says "A provocative hypothesis involving FeLV (and AIDS), nevertheless supported by medical literature, eyewitness accounts, and numerous facts, is that AIDS was specifically sought, engineered, and either accidentally or purposefully released, and that FeLV is a byproduct created along the way.". Should this be left in? I just added a bunch of "citation needed"s because, although the writer did provide some sources, they aren't really cited. 198.150.76.150 (talk) 19:02, 20 March 2009 (UTC)

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That section did not conform to neutral point of view, and it contradicted established medical opinion. HIV came from monkeys, and the first proven human infection was in Worobey, Michael; Marlea Gemmel, Dirk E. Teuwen, et al. (2 October 2008). "Direct evidence of extensive diversity of HIV-1 in Kinshasa by 1960". Nature 455 (7293): pp.661-664. doi:10.1038/nature07390. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v455/n7213/abs/nature07390.html. Retrieved on 2008-10-01, which is before recombinant DNA techniques were invented. HIV is not the result of a military experiment gone wrong, or a plot against black people. It is simply a disease that, like many others, learned to jump from one species to another.

Because that section was an unsubstantiated set of conspiracy theories, I deleted it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.14.154.3 (talk) 15:22, 12 April 2009 (UTC)

Prevalence
I've heard that this is the number one killer of cats. True? If so, can a cite be found? A "Prevalence" section on the article might also be nice. --MZMcBride (talk) 02:27, 22 January 2012 (UTC)

I've just read information from a local rescue group that says not to accept a first test result that's positive for FeLV. Here is the text from their message:

"We trapped this kitten from a feral colony and brought her into Karma Cat Rescue to be socialized in a foster home. She tested FeLV+ at the local shelter a couple of weeks ago (SNAP test on whole blood). We always retest, so today a SNAP test on serum showed her to be FeLV negative.

"Our vet was curious about the different results, and so looked up on VIN. Imagine our surprise when she read that 98% of kittens testing FeLV+ have transient viremia, also called regressive infection, and are unlikely to have any FeLV-associated diseases. Which makes it especially tragic that most shelters (and many private practice vets) will euthanize on the basis of a single FeLV positive test result."

This seems important to include in the article about FeLV. (Scottie Zimmerman) — Preceding unsigned comment added by ScottieZ (talk • contribs) 07:53, 1 December 2019 (UTC)

The article does already mention that retesting is recommended due to the possibility of transient viremia. It doesn't specifically bring up the age of the cat but if you can find a source with a statistic on kittens and the prevalence of infection, feel free to make the addition. MarialeegRVT (talk) 10:49, 1 December 2019 (UTC)

Assessment comment
Substituted at 15:02, 29 April 2016 (UTC)