If we have a Feline Leukemia vaccine, why can't we make a Human Leukemia vaccine? What makes the difference?
Thursday, March 4th, 2010 at
3:59 am
(I know that they are different, but I am wondering HOW they are different…besides the obvious that one is cats and one is humans, thanks. In other words what are the actual differences in the 2 diseases that make one vaccinate-able and one not.)
Filed under: Pet Insurance
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Feline leukemia is not a catch-all term for a range of cat diseases, like it is in humans. In cats, the specific disease is FLV, or Feline Leukemia Virus. This is why they can vaccinate against it, because a vaccination has been developed for that particular virus. It is like vaccinating humans against the Hepatitis B virus. In humans, leukemia is not a virus, but a term covering a whole range of blood and bone marrow cancers.
Good question. Not that it isn’t possible. Don’t forget, the ability of animals to metabolize things are at a far faster rate than that of a human. Ever see hummingbirds’ heart pump?
Feline leukemia is not cancer, like it is in humans. It’s more like a feline version of AIDS.
Which brings up a better question…why a cure for feline leukemia and not AIDS?
It’s a retrovirus, which acts specifically on DNA/RNA. Our DNA is different from cats’.