Research overview: history and impact of FeLV vaccination

The development of FeLV vaccines in the 1980s, combined with reliable testing and test-and-removal programs, produced one of veterinary medicine's clearest prevention success stories, sharply reducing infection prevalence across many regions. Successive vaccine generations, including adjuvanted whole-virus and recombinant canarypox-vectored products, improved safety and efficacy debates. Vaccination is generally recommended for cats at risk of exposure, especially kittens and outdoor cats, while indoor-only adults may not need it. This overview synthesizes the vaccination literature rather than a single source, describing how combined testing and immunization drove prevalence down, why vaccine choice and the injection-site sarcoma concern shaped product evolution, and why FeLV control exemplifies population-level disease prevention in companion animals.