Multiple Introductions of Domestic Cat Feline Leukemia Virus in Endangered Florida Panthers1
Emerging Infectious Diseases·
- DOI
- 10.3201/eid2501.181347
- PMID
- 30561312
- PMCID
- PMC6302599
- OpenAlex
- W2901674176
- Study type
- Genomic study
- Publisher
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
The detection of multiple FeLV strains and an oncogenic recombinant in an endangered species indicates ongoing high risk for FeLV infection in Florida panthers despite prior vaccination efforts, with implications for wildlife conservation and domestic cat reservoir management.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The study aimed to characterize feline leukemia virus genomes from Florida panthers across two outbreak periods and compare them with viruses from domestic cats to understand transmission patterns.
Study design
Genomic study comparing full-length FeLV sequences isolated from Florida panthers during 2003-2007 and 2010-2016 outbreaks with contemporary sequences from Florida domestic cats using phylogenetic analysis.
Population and setting
Endangered Florida panthers with documented FeLV cases during two outbreak periods (early 2000s with 3 deaths, and 2010-2016 with 6 additional cases) and contemporary domestic cats in Florida.
Main findings
Phylogenetic analyses identified at least two distinct FeLV strains circulating in panthers representing separate introductions from domestic cats. The original outbreak strain appears to be still circulating or a closely related variant was introduced through another domestic cat transmission. An oncogenic FeLV recombinant (FeLV-B) cross-species transmission event was also documented.
Public-health relevance
The detection of multiple FeLV strains and an oncogenic recombinant in an endangered species indicates ongoing high risk for FeLV infection in Florida panthers despite prior vaccination efforts, with implications for wildlife conservation and domestic cat reservoir management.
Important limitations
This summary relies on the supplied single-article abstract and metadata. Full interpretation of genomic methods, sampling strategy, temporal gaps between outbreaks, and vaccination program details requires review of the complete published paper.
GIDS interpretation
The article was retrieved in a search context linked to Hepatitis B and Hepatitis D diseases, though the study itself focuses on feline leukemia virus in panthers. This discoverability pattern may reflect classifier behavior rather than content alignment with the hepatitis disease categories.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 10 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.