EFFECTS OF ORALLY-ADMINISTERED INTERFERON-ALPHA ON THE PATHOGENESIS OF FELINE LEUKEMIA VIRUS-INDUCED ERYTHROID APLASIA

The use of orally administered interferon-alpha as a treatment for ret roviral disease was evaluated in the experimental model of feline leuk aemia virus (FeLV)-induced erythroid aplasia. Progressive anaemia, FeL V viraemia, and leukopenia developed in cats inoculated with the Kawak ami-Theilen isolate of feline leukaemia virus (FeLV-KT). A treatment r egimen with orally administered recombinant interferon-alpha natural i nterferon-a as employed in this study had no significant effects on vi raemia, course of disease, or differential leucocyte counts. The resul ts of this study did not reveal any beneficial effects of human interf eron-alpha administered by the oral route for treatment of cats with e xperimentally induced FeLV infection.