AIDS-Like Virus Shows Up in Japanese Cats
Reuters
TOKYO —
Every third cat seen by Tokyo veterinarians in the last year was infected with an AIDS-like virus, a Japanese researcher said today.
Takuo Ishida of the Japan Veterinary and Livestock University said his study of the cat version of AIDS is one of the first of its kind in the world. The cat virus, called Feline T-Cell Lymphotropic Lentivirus or FTLV, enters cells that make up the body’s immune system and destroys them as it proliferates. Humans cannot contract FTLV.
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