Leucose bij katten in Vlaanderen: Een brede kijk op de cijfers
Leucose bij katten in Vlaanderen: een brede kijk op de cijfers.
Hoe vaak komt leucose voor bij katten in Vlaanderen? Om hier antwoord op te krijgen werden Vlaamse organisaties bevraagd die katten opvangen (asielen en zwerfkattenorganisaties). Enkele van deze organisaties deelden hun testresultaten van leucosetesten. Van de 866 verzamelde testresultaten uit 2025 bleken 9 katten positief. Dit komt neer op een prevalentie van 1%.
Dit relatief lage prevalentiecijfer komt overeen met eerdere cijfers uit Europa en België, maar er waren te weinig en onvoldoende verspreide resultaten om een uitspraak te doen over de prevalentie in heel Vlaanderen. Wel brachten de resultaten enkele belangrijke inzichten over testen, preventieve maatregelen en dierenwelzijn.
Wat is leucose?
Sociaal contact speelt een belangrijke rol in overdracht.
Leucose is een infectieziekte veroorzaakt door een virus (het Feline leukemievirus). Het virus wordt voornamelijk overgedragen via speeksel of bloed van een geïnfecteerde kat. Daarom speelt (sociaal) contact tussen katten een belangrijke rol bij de overdracht (bv. het delen van eet- en drinkplekken, elkaar wassen, via bijtwonden, …). Ook kan een kattin het virus doorgeven aan haar kittens via de baarmoeder of moedermelk.
Na blootstelling aan het virus kunnen er ernstige symptomen ontstaan zoals tumoren, bloedarmoede en een verzwakt immuunsysteem. Maar katten ontwikkelen niet altijd (meteen) symptomen. Er zijn verschillende infectie-uitkomsten en de prognose is sterk afhankelijk van de immuniteit, leeftijd, het subtype van het virus, de infectiedruk en genetische factoren.
In sommige regio’s is leucose een grote oorzaak van sterfte bij katten. Eerdere studies hebben aangetoond dat de prevalentie in Europa relatief laag is. Er waren echter geen specifieke cijfers voor Vlaanderen, terwijl die wel van belang kunnen zijn voor correcte diagnose en het toepassen van preventieve maatregelen.
Uit bevragingen bij organisaties in Vlaanderen kwam een prevalentie van 1%. De resultaten waren onvoldoende om een uitspraak te doen over de prevalentie in heel Vlaanderen. Toch bieden ze al waardevolle informatie.
De prevalentie beïnvloedt de diagnose
De betrouwbaarheid van een testresultaat hangt samen met de prevalentie van de ziekte.
Er kunnen enkele weken zitten tussen een besmetting en een positieve test. In combinatie met de verschillende infectie-uitkomsten zorgt het ervoor dat het in sommige gevallen nodig is om katten meerdere keren te testen (via een andere testmethode). Daarnaast heeft de prevalentie ook een invloed op de betrouwbaarheid van die testresultaten. Theoretisch gezien is er bij een lage prevalentie namelijk meer kans op vals positieve resultaten. Bij een prevalentie van 1% is bij de meest gebruikte testmethode van leucose (een immunochromatografietest) de kans dat een positief testresultaat vals positief is 66% tot 91%. Ondanks het beperkt aantal testresultaten kwam dit ook naar voren in de cijfers van de organisaties. 4 van de 9 positieve katten uit de testresultaten werden een tweede keer getest met een andere testmethode. Bij 3 van deze 4 katten kon op basis van de tweede test geconcludeerd worden dat het eerste testresultaat vals positief was. Deze 3 resultaten zijn opnieuw te weinig om een algemene conclusie te vormen, maar ze maken wel duidelijk waarom het in sommige gevallen nodig is om een positief testresultaat te herhalen.
Deze informatie is belangrijk in het kader van dierenwelzijn. Er bestaat geen behandeling die leucose kan genezen, maar met de juiste opvolging kunnen katten met symptomen wel nog meerdere mooie jaren hebben. Voor zwerfkatten die niet herplaatst kunnen worden, ligt dit anders. Wanneer katten met een positieve test standaard worden geëuthanaseerd, bestaat het risico dat een kat met een vals positief resultaat onterecht wordt geëuthanaseerd. Anderzijds kan het ook nadelig zijn voor het welzijn van zwerfkatten om ze langdurig binnen of apart te houden in afwachting van een tweede test. Daarom is het belangrijk om bij een lage prevalentie rekening te houden met de betrouwbaarheid van de test en per situatie te bekijken wat de meest diervriendelijke beslissing is.
Vaccinatie als preventieve maatregel
Vaccinatie is niet nodig of nuttig als standaard maatregel voor alle katten.
Vaccinatie voorkomt niet elke infectie-uitkomst, maar kan wel helpen om het ontstaan van ziekteverschijnselen te voorkomen. Toch is het niet nodig of nuttig om alle katten standaard te vaccineren tegen leucose. Zo zijn er bijvoorbeeld katten die geen risico lopen op besmetting en daarom niet gevaccineerd moeten worden. Ook bij katten die positief zijn, heeft vaccinatie geen nut meer.
Er zijn richtlijnen die aanbevelen om katten altijd eerst te testen op leucose alvorens ze ertegen te vaccineren. Indien een kat al besmet is, maar nog niet positief test, kan vaccinatie zorgen voor een vals gevoel van bescherming. Of er kan in dat geval misschien ten onrechte geconcludeerd worden dat een vaccin niet heeft gewerkt wanneer de kat later toch symptomen ontwikkelt.
Dit betekent niet dat vaccinatie geen nut heeft. Zeker voor katten die een hoog risico lopen op besmetting, is het vaccin heel zinvol. Maar het is belangrijk om dit per kat en per situatie te beoordelen.
In Vlaanderen was het vroeger verplicht om elke kat standaard te vaccineren tegen leucose bij het verhandelen. Sinds 13 maart 2026 is dit niet meer verplicht voor asielen, wat dus een terechte beslissing was.
Castratie als preventieve maatregel
Nog een andere belangrijke preventieve maatregel is castratie. Castratie zorgt over het algemeen voor minder agressie tussen katten, minder sociale interactie, minder territoriaal gedrag en minder paargedrag. Katers hebben hierdoor ook een kleinere home range. Bovendien kunnen kattinnen het virus dan niet meer overbrengen naar hun kittens. Hierdoor is er dus minder kans op overdracht van het virus.
Er zijn organisaties die aanraden om bij beperkte middelen en een lage prevalentie eerder in te zetten op castratie op grote schaal en goede zorgen voor zwerfkatten dan standaard elke kat te testen en vaccineren.
Conclusie
Er zijn nog meer verspreide testresultaten nodig om een exact beeld te krijgen van de prevalentie van leucose in Vlaanderen. Wat wel duidelijk is, is dat kennis over de prevalentie belangrijk is om testresultaten correct te interpreteren, preventieve maatregelen gericht toe te passen en beslissingen te nemen met het welzijn van katten als belangrijk uitgangspunt.
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