RESUMEN
This study was conducted to determine prevalence and risk factors for retrovirus infection of infected cats in a large cat population in Germany by evaluation of 17,462 client-owned cats that were tested for the presence of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) antibodies or feline leukaemia virus (FeLV) antigen. The owners of a subset of 100 cats were contacted to determine their cat's survival times. Prevalence of FIV and FeLV was 3.2% and 3.6%, respectively, remaining stable for FIV, but decreasing for FeLV (6-1%) over 10 years. Median age was 6 years in FIV- and 3 years in FeLV-infected cats. Risk factors for FIV infection were male gender, older age, mixed breed, access to outdoor, aggressive behaviour, and FeLV co-infection; and for FeLV infection contact to other cats, aggressive behaviour, and FIV co-infection. Median survival time of FIV-infected cats was not significantly different to non-infected cats, whereas FeLV-infected cats had significantly shorter median survival times than non-infected cats.
Asunto(s)
Enfermedades de los Gatos/epidemiología , Síndrome de Inmunodeficiencia Adquirida del Felino/epidemiología , Virus de la Inmunodeficiencia Felina/aislamiento & purificación , Virus de la Leucemia Felina/aislamiento & purificación , Leucemia Felina/epidemiología , Factores de Edad , Animales , Recuento de Células Sanguíneas/veterinaria , Enfermedades de los Gatos/diagnóstico , Gatos , ADN Bacteriano/química , Síndrome de Inmunodeficiencia Adquirida del Felino/diagnóstico , Femenino , Alemania/epidemiología , Masculino , Reacción en Cadena de la Polimerasa/veterinaria , Prevalencia , Factores de RiesgoRESUMEN
Despite aggressive pre- or postoperative treatment, feline fibrosarcomas have high recurrence rates. Immunostimulatory gene therapy is a promising approach in veterinary oncology. This phase I dose-escalation study was performed to determine toxicity and feasibility of gene therapy with feline granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (feGM-CSF) in cats with fibrosarcomas. Twenty cats were treated with plasmid coding for feGM-CSF attached to magnetic nanoparticles in doses of 50, 250, 750 and 1250 microg. Two preoperative intratumoral injections followed by magnetofection were given. Four control cats received only surgical treatment. Adverse events were recorded and correlated according to the veterinary co-operative oncology group toxicity scale. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was performed to detect plasma feGM-CSF concentrations. No significant treatment related toxicity was observed. Preliminary recurrence results were encouraging as, on day 360, ten of 20 treated cats were recurrence-free. In conclusion, 1250 microg of feGM-CSF plasmid DNA applied by magnetofection is safe and feasible for phase II testing.