§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has on the extent of FIV infection in cats and the potential threat to human health.
§ Mr. MacleanI have been asked to reply.
Feline immunodeficiency virus—FIV—has been iden-tified in cat populations in numerous countries, but it is most prevalent in free-roaming cats. Most cats recover from the disease but become lifelong carriers of the virus. The infection rate in the limited surveys that have taken place in the United Kingdom has ranged from 5 to 23 per cent. of the cats tested. There is no evidence to link FIV to any human disease.