Posted: Jan. 10, 2009, 3 a.m. EST
As part of its new campaign to promote feline wellness, Idexx Laboratories Inc. of Westbrook, Maine, has launched an interactive feline disease prevalence map.
The map, the centerpiece of the company's campaign, will allow cat owners and veterinarians to determine the prevalence of three common diseases on a state and county basis.
The three diseases are feline heartworm, feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV).
Idexx says the map will help cat owners better understand their cats’ risk levels for the diseases while providing veterinarians a local and national perspective on how many cases have been confirmed. That information might change a veterinarian’s disease-testing practices, the company said.
The results posted on the map are compiled from Idexx Reference Laboratories tests; tests from its in-clinic Idexx VetLab Station systems from thousands of veterinary practices; and other prevalence studies, the company said.