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Epidemiology: 10% of intact male cats and 3.5% of healthy UK cats are seropositve. Cell associated virus with bite-transfer between roaming or mating cats and vaginal-transfer at mating is associated with most chance of progressive disease. Oral-transfer via saliva at mutual grooming is common but rarely results in disease - as with a well-adjusted virus it circulates without killing its hosts. No vertical transfer.

Diagnosis: An in-practice ELISA for serum antibody to FIV is routinely used during health checks and before rehoming stray cats. As with FeLV some of the positives achieved by ELISA are false because during lab-based tests the blood does not contain antibody by immunofluorescence of FIV-infected cell lines.