The Center for Companion Animal Health sponsored the second International Feline Immunology workshop held at the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, in August, 1997. Together with industry co-sponsors (Aroma Research Laboratories; Fort Dodge Animal Health Foundation; Heska Corporation; Intervet, Inc.; and Pfizer, Inc.), this meeting brought together more than one hundred researchers into feline immunology from around the world.

Scientific papers were presented representing three broad areas of interest: Clinical immunology, experimental immunology, and vaccinology. Cat-scratch disease (Bartonella), feline immunodeficiency virus, and feline infectious peritonitis were highlighted in the clinical immunology presentations.

The sessions on experimental immunology included presentations relating to FIV infection processes, cytokine expression, bone marrow transplantation as immune therapy, and FIP-associated changes in cytokine mR NA levels.

Vaccinology presentations included a review of the history of FIV vaccines, cytokine patterns in lymph nodes from vaccinated cats, viremia in cats vaccinated with different FIV vaccines, and immune responses after immunization with a variety of agents.

Poster sessions included information on feline FIV and increased risk of lymphoma, feline gangliosidosis, immune responses and mucosal transmission of FIV, and other topics.