Epizootiology and management of feline leukemia virus in the Florida puma

This study described a feline leukemia virus (FeLV) outbreak in the endangered Florida panther, a small, inbred puma population. Through surveillance testing, the authors detected progressive FeLV infections causing illness and death in several panthers, raising alarm for a subspecies already burdened by low genetic diversity. They traced likely introduction from domestic cats and characterized the spatial cluster of cases. The management response included intensive monitoring and an FeLV vaccination campaign for wild panthers to curb spread. The paper documents both the epidemiology of the outbreak and a rare real-world example of vaccinating free-ranging wild felids against an introduced domestic-cat virus, providing a template for disease intervention in tiny, high-value endangered cat populations.