Page 947 - Clinical Small Animal Internal Medicine

88 Feline Immunodeficiency Virus 885

killed vaccines are preferred. Even if they are kept indoors, of fungal disease should be avoided as bone marrow sup­
VetBooks.ir housing cats in overcrowded conditions has been signifi­ pression has been reported in FIV‐infected cats.
cantly associated with disease progression in FIV‐positive
cats. Therefore, reducing stress and limiting exposure to
potential infectious agents are important husbandry prac­ Prognosis
tices that can decrease morbidity and mortality.
For cases of prolonged severe stomatitis, removal of all Though the virus can never be cleared from an infected
the teeth is the treatment of choice. Zidovudine (AZT) at cat, most infected cats have long life spans. While
a dose of 5–10 mg/kg PO or SC q12h has also been shown many die from conditions that are unrelated to the
to be effective in some cases of stomatitis. AZT is also infection, many ultimately succumb to an FIV‐related
used, to some effect, in cases with neurologic signs of dis­ disease.
ease. AZT can cause bone marrow suppression. CBCs
should be monitored closely. AZT should not be used in
cats with myelosuppression. Alfaferone (natural human Public Health Implications
alpha‐interferon) has been reported to increase the sur­
vival of FIV‐infected cats. Recombinant feline IFN‐omega Feline immunodeficiency virus infection of humans has
may improve clinical signs and reduce inflammatory never been documented, even in veterinarians or indi­
cytokine production but does not appear to affect viral viduals who have been bitten multiple times by FIV‐
load. A recent publication demonstrated that an analog of infected cats. However, FIV has been shown to replicate
tenofovir, a widely prescribed anti‐HIV drug in human in human cells in vitro and cause disease in monkeys
medicine, may also be effective as a therapy for FIV, though experimentally infected with FIV‐infected autologous
further investigation is needed. Griseofulvin treatment cells. Thus, caution is still advised.

Further Reading

de Oliveira Medeiros S, Abreu CM, Delvecchio R, et al. management guidelines. J Feline Med Surg 2008; 10(3):
Follow‐up on long‐term antiretroviral therapy for cats 300–16.
infected with feline immunodeficiency virus. J Feline Miller C, Abdo Z, Ericsson A, et al. Applications of the
Med Surg 2016; 18(4): 264–72. FIV model to study HIV pathogenesis. Viruses 2018;
Hartmann K, Wooding A, Bergmann M. Efficacy of 10(4): ii.
antiviral drugs against feline immunodeficiency virus. Sahay B, Yamamoto JK. Lessons learned in developing a
Vet Sci 2015; 2(4): 456–76. commercial FIV vaccine: the immunity required for an
Levy J, Crawford C, Hartmann K, et al. American effective HIV‐1 vaccine. Viruses 2018; 10(5): ii.
Association of Feline Practitioners’ feline retrovirus