Feline immunodeficiency virus

Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) is a lentivirus that affects cats worldwide with 2.5% to 4.4% of felines being infected.

FIV was first isolated in 1986, by and Janet K. Yamamoto at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in a colony of cats that had a high prevalence of opportunistic infections and degenerative conditions, and was originally called feline T-lymphotropic virus. It has since been identified in domestic cats.