FIV question (or not)

can you get a false negative on a FIV test?

i ask because a cat was tested (not one of mine) and it came back negative. this was a while ago. the cat has constant snot issues and runny eyes sometimes.

he's from a litter that is believed to have been born too early and none of the other kittens lived past 2-3 months of age so bean is pretty sure there's something wrong with this cat but what they aren't sure.

he's about 2 years old now and has always been snotty and runny

 

Could it be feline herpes?

Feline rhinotracheitis virus (feline herpesvirus type 1 or FHV-1) causes acute respiratory illness known as rhinotracheitis (or feline herpesvirus infection). The virus affects domestic and wild cats worldwide.

Rhinotracheitis is characterized by respiratory symptoms such as sneezing, nasal discharge, rhinitis (inflammation of the nose), and conjunctivitis (inflammation of the membrane lining the eyelid). It also affects the reproductive tract and can cause complications during pregnancy.

Rhinotracheitis is part of the feline upper respiratory infection complex, which is a group of viral and bacterial infections (e.g., calicivirus, chlamydiosis) that cause sneezing and discharge from the eyes and nose. Cats often have two or more of these upper respiratory infections at the same time, and FHV-1 is one of the most common.

Incidence
FHV-1 occurs worldwide. Cats of all ages and breeds are susceptible, although it is more common in the following:

Kittens, especially those born to infected mothers
Multicat households, catteries, and pet adoption shelters, especially those with:
Overcrowding
Physical (e.g., temperature) or psychological (e.g., introduction of a new cat) stressors
Poor nutrition
Poor sanitation
Poor ventilation
Pregnant cats that are lactating
Sick cats (especially sickness associated with a weakened immune system or other respiratory infection)
Unvaccinated cats

 

Hmmm not sure about a false negative. I know the snap tests can give false positives.. but not sure about the negatives. Don't know enough of how those tests work to know that. I agree with Debby though. Most likely FHV. Have her put some lysine in the food for awhile, and if it makes a difference, there's her answer! ;-)

 

question

what if the lysine works for awhile and then seems to stop working? like an immunity is built up maybe?

 

Lysine just boosts the immune system, it doesn't cure anything. The virus stays in the body forever, and symptoms will flare up with stress or other health issues. That's why boosting the immune system helps, but doesn't prevent, flareups.

Emme has feline herpes. In her case she came to use with a terribly infected eye from the herpes and needed anti-viral eye drops. Expensive stuff, but it worked.

It's kind of like chicken pox, a human herpes virus. Once you've had it, the virus lies dormant for years and can cause a case of shingles, even 40 or 50 years later.

 

Yes, one can get a false negative test result for FIV. No test is 100% accurate.

 

Usually a negative is a negative but a positive could be false. Other problem is when running a test the cat may have just been exposed but won't test positive at that time so it is always good to run a second test, especially when testing for FeLeuk.

 

The lysine just helps with herpes flares. Usually boosts the immune system enough to stop the flare, and get them feeling better. Maybe that's just the kick to help right now? If they get better, then at least you guys know it was herpes then. I still put it in my kitties' food when I have sickie fosters in the house. They're separated, but somehow it always leaks out under the door, or on my clothes, etc.. It's always helped mine though if they get sneezy. I've never had to take any into the vet when i started them on lysine first. The lysine always stopped the sneezies before becoming something serious. (even just a URI caught from foster kittens) Although if it does become a full blown URI with infection.. the lysine won't cure that. You need antibiotics (the big guns) if it actually develops into something like that. The lysine is to just prevent it from getting worse.

 

And if stuffy runny are the only problems, don't rule out allergies. THey could try some antihistimines. I found that 5 mg of zyrtec helps PEarl's runny nose and eyes way better than chlorephenirimine.

 

Just so you know, lysine does nothing for the immune system. It works by inhibiting the herpes virus
http://www.herpes-coldsores.com/amino-a ... erpes.html

http://health.howstuffworks.com/health- ... herpes.htm
One important step for people with genital herpes is to decrease the amount of the amino acid arginine in the body, while increasing another amino acid, lysine. Arginine assists the herpes simplex virus in multiplying, and lysine can help break down arginine and decrease its absorption in the body.

 

Thanks for the information, Connie, I didn't know that.

 

You may find this thread on the old board interesting.

Here is another link but this one confused me because it seems to suggest that the study mentioned above (appears to be same one, UC Davis) used a lower dose (mentions the possibility that that a critical concentration may be required to achieve antiviral effects) and single- rather than twice-daily bolus. I listened to it several times but it wasn't really clear to me, and the abstract didn't give details on the dosage and frequency tried in the study.

 

I'm not sure about studies or whatnot, but there are some people at the shelter that believe L-Lysine gives a little boost to the immune system as well. One person took it herself, all the time, and hadn't gotten sick for a long time. I wonder how much of that could be the same for cats or kittens with weaker immune systems?

http://www.quantumhealth.com/productgro ... ysine.html

Now, I know this is for people.. so not sure if cats are completely different, or it could possibly be similar in them too. They don't risk it at the shelter, and send lysine home with EVERY foster kitten. We give it to all fosters, no matter what. Seemed to have seen less sickies too, due to it. I've heard about it blocking the FHV, but had also wondered if it did give a little boost to the immune system or not.

 

YES

when i adopted banjo off this board a few years ago his FIV was negative and i had it tested twice once i adopted him, the first time was just routine blood work and it came back positive and then i had it done again at a later date and it was positive again. he's never been sick though.