Can People Get "Cat AIDS" or FIV?

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Can animals get AIDS? My daughter was told her cat had AIDS, and she put the cat to sleep. Her two small children have been scratched many times by this cat. Can they get AIDS this way? I am worried about this.

C.E.
Answer :

Human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1), the virus that is the primary cause of AIDS, belongs to a family of viruses called retroviruses. HIV-1 is actually the third retrovirus scientists identified and described. The first two retroviruses found were human T cell leukemia/lymphoma viruses, HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 -- so named because they infect T cells (a type of white blood cell) and can cause blood cell cancers, leukemia and lymphoma, as well as neurologic conditions. A second human immunodeficiency virus, HIV-2, also causes AIDS and is seen primarily in Africa.

Animals are also infected with a variety of retroviruses. The simian immunodeficiency virus, SIV, can cause an AIDS-like disease in primates. SIV's chemical structure is actually very similar to that of HIV-2, and these two retroviruses probably have common ancestors in their evolutionary past. Although some laboratory workers have become infected with SIV, the infection does not appear to cause illness in humans. Cattle also can be infected with a similar cattle virus, the bovine immunodeficiency virus. Cats, as you may have guessed, can become infected with the feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV). This virus cannot be passed to humans, so your daughter's children are at no risk.

Cats infected with FIV have impaired immunity and develop an illness that is very similar to human AIDS. For example, FIV-infected cats have difficulty fighting various kinds of infections that pose little risk to healthy cats. Some experts consider the cat illness to be an ideal experimental model for studying AIDS. Many of the secondary infections that occur in people with AIDS, especially AIDS-related neurologic problems, are closely mimicked by the feline disease. FIV infection also can be treated with some of the same drugs that we prescribe for HIV infection.


We are very fortunate that there are animal models of HIV that can be studied, because this helps advance our understanding of HIV infection and how to treat it. A number of studies of possible vaccines and new kinds of treatment are currently under way in both cats and primates. While such work theoretically may pose a very small risk to laboratory workers, there should be no risk to pet owners.