Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Feline leukemia virus (FLV) is an exogenous pathogen capable of replicating in a wide range of tissues, including bone marrow, salivary glands, and respiratory epithelium. In the absence of an adequate immune response after primary infection, the pathogen migrates to the bone marrow, where it invades hematopoietic progenitor cells. This virus is one of the most aggressive feline retroviruses and causes more clinical manifestations than any other pathogen. It is a leading cause of immunodeficiency, cancer, and death in pets. This viral agent is of significant interest due to its diverse and difficult-to-diagnose forms, the lack of treatments that directly address the underlying cause, and the difficulty of disease management. The objective of this study was to retrospectively analyze the prevalence of FLV and FLV in cats. Data was collected from 2024 and 2025 on blood samples from cats of different ages and breeds. PCR diagnostics were used to detect feline leukemia virus (RNA and DNA) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) DNA. We noted a predominance of cases in animals under one year of age, between one and two years of age, and over seven years of age. Over the two years, the most common cases were feline leukemia virus (FVLV) containing DNA and RNA (93/75), feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) (49/48), and associated infection (FeLV containing DNA and RNA and FIV) (21/19). No breed predisposition to these infectious diseases was observed. The predominance of British and Scottish cats in the study is explained by owners’ interest in a particular breed and the health status of their animals.
Institution: Stavropol State Agrarian University
Language: English
Subfield: Animal Science and Zoology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7203784355