Feline immunodeficiency virus
hideFeline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) is a lentivirus that affects domesticated housecats worldwide and is the causative agent of feline AIDS. Approximately 11% of cats worldwide, and about 2.5% of cats in the USA, are infected with FIV. FIV differs taxonomically from two other feline retroviruses, feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and feline foamy virus (FFV) and is more closely related to human immunodeficiency virus HIV. Within FIV, five subtypes have been identified based on amino acid sequence differences coding for the viral envelope. FIV is the only non-primate lentivirus to cause an AIDS-like syndrome, but FIV is not always a death sentence for cats, as they can live relatively healthily as carriers and transmitters of the disease for many years. A vaccine is available although its efficacy remains uncertain, and cats will test positive for FIV antibodies after vaccination.
FIV was first discovered in 1986 in a colony of cats that had a high prevalence of opportunistic infections and degenerative conditions, and has since been identified as an endemic disease in domestic cat populations worldwide .
For more information about Feline immunodeficiency virus, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with immunodeficiency virus
Gene therapy technique slows ALD brain disease
Nov 05, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
A strategy that combines gene therapy with blood stem cell therapy may be a useful tool for treating a fatal brain disease, French researchers have found. These findings appear in the 6 November 2009 issue ...
Taking medicine for HIV proves hard to swallow for many people
Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS
Oct 22, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
Highly active antiretroviral therapy has increased the longevity and quality of life for people living with human immunodeficiency virus. But it requires strict adherence in taking the medicine, something that is extremely ...
AIDS: Are the wilderness years over for vaccine research?
Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS
Oct 21, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
Scientists looking for a vaccine against the AIDS virus can be forgiven for wondering at times whether they made the right career decision.
Researcher studies monkeys in Africa to better understand virus evolution
Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS
Oct 07, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Despite the importance of AIDS in human health, scientists still know very little about the diversity and ecology of AIDS-like viruses in nature.
New chemically-activated antigen could expedite development of HIV vaccine
Sep 21, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
Scientists working to develop a vaccine for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) report they have created the first antigen that induces protective antibodies capable of blocking infection of human cells by genetically-diverse ...
Virus responsible for deadly brain disease found in MS patients treated with natalizumab
Sep 09, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (2) |
0
The virus responsible for PML (progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy), a rare brain disease that typically affects AIDS patients and other individuals with compromised immune systems, has been found to be reactivated ...
Researchers find TB-prevention therapy is cost-effective option
Sep 09, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) researchers have found that the cost of preventive antibiotic tuberculosis (TB) therapy for patients infected by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is generally less expensive than ...
Engineered protein-like molecule protects cells against HIV infection
Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS
Aug 17, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- With the help of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and molecular engineering, researchers have designed synthetic protein-like mimics convincing enough to interrupt unwanted biological conversations ...
An HIV-blocking gel for women
Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS
Aug 10, 2009 |
not rated yet |
2
University of Utah scientists developed a new kind of "molecular condom" to protect women from AIDS in Africa and other impoverished areas. Before sex, women would insert a vaginal gel that turns semisolid ...
Mountain Gorillas Pose No AIDS Threat, Researchers Say
Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS
Aug 04, 2009 |
not rated yet |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- Mountain gorillas do not pose an AIDS threat to humans, according to researchers at the UC Davis Mountain Gorilla One Health Program.
New invention could revolutionize how diseases are diagnosed
Jul 24, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (12) |
2
(PhysOrg.com) -- An award-winning invention by Stanford doctoral students Richard Gaster and Drew Hall may change who diagnoses diseases ranging from flu to the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. The invention, ...
HIV infection and chronic drinking have a synergistic, damaging effect on the brain
Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS
Jul 23, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
More than half of clinic patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) report they also drink heavily. While highly active antiretroviral therapy has helped to reduce HIV-related cognitive and motor deficits, ...
New evidence: AIDS-like disease in wild chimpanzees
Jul 22, 2009 |
not rated yet |
1
An international consortium has found that wild chimpanzees naturally infected with Simian Immunodeficiency Viruses (SIV) - long thought to be harmless to the apes - can contract an AIDS-like syndrome and ...
HIV: Male circumcision does not shield women
Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS
Jul 17, 2009 |
3.6 / 5 (5) |
0
Circumcision of men with HIV does not reduce the risk of infection for women, according to a study published on Friday by The Lancet.
New electron microscopy images reveal the assembly of HIV
Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS
Jun 23, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (3) |
0
Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the University Clinic Heidelberg, Germany, have produced a three-dimensional reconstruction of HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), which shows ...
