Feline Viral Infections

Question 1

Summarise the viruses that affect felines

Answer 1

Respiratory viruses- FCV and FeHV-1

Retroviruses- FeLV, FIV

Coronaviruses- FECov, FIPV

Parvovirus- panleucopaenia/ feline infectious enteritis

Cowpox, influenza and rabies

Question 2

Why can feline panleucopenia survive for a long time in the environment/ difficult to kill with disinfectants?

Answer 2

Non envelope

Very small

Stable DNA

Question 3

Why is feline panleucopenia relatively rare?

Answer 3

Successful vaccination

Question 4

Why does feline panleucopenia target rapidly dividing cells?

Answer 4

So small it has removed its own polymerase from its genome to become smaller= no enzyme to copy its genome

Can only replicate using DNSA polymerase of the cat

Preferentially infects cells replicating lots

Question 5

Name some places feline panleucopenia commonly infects and what it causes

Answer 5

Villus crypt epithelium (causing enteritis)

Bone marrow and lymphoid tissue

In late gestation, the neonatal cerebellum (causing neonatal hypoplasia

Causes foetal death and abortion in early pregnancy

Question 6

What are the clinical signs of feline panleucopenia?

Answer 6

Sudden death

Profuse diarrhoea

Pyrexia, depression, anorexia

Panleucopenia

Cerebellar hypoplasia in kittens

As they eat food they cannot hold their head up and food will go all over their face rather than in their mouth

Question 7

What can be used to treat feline panleucopenia?

Answer 7

Interferon (not licensed)

Fluid therapy

Antibacterials to control secondary infection

Question 8

How can you diagnose feline panleucopenia?

Answer 8

Clinical signs and history (probably not vaccinated)

Faecal samples for identification of virus (eg most likely PCR these days or lateral flow test)

Post mortem examination: histopathology

Question 9

How can you prevent infection with feline panleucopenia?

Answer 9

Vaccination: live and inactivated

Biosecurity

Elimination of virus from environment

Question 10

Can cats infect dogs with panleucopenia?

Answer 10

Yes (and vice versa)

Question 11

What are some feline viruses that have uncertain roles in disease

Answer 11

feline Astro virus

feline rotavirus- possibly mild enteritis in kittens

feline torovirus- diarrhoea and protruding nictitating membrane

Question 12

How may cats contract cowpox

Answer 12

through catching rodents in summer and autumn

Question 13

Why is cowpox more common in cats during the summer and autumn?

Answer 13

Numbers of rodents are higher

Question 14

What are the clinical signs of cowpox in cats?

Answer 14

Typically starts with single primary lesion

Widespread secondary skin lesions often develop after 1-3 weeks

• Most animals recover
  uneventfully
• Occasionally systemic illness
  may develop (especially in
  immunosuppressed cats)
• Cheetahs seem to be more
  susceptible

Question 15

What can cowpox commonly be confused with and why is this an issue?

Answer 15

Can be confused with flea bites which is often treated with steroids

• Steroids cause cat to be
  immunosuppressed

Question 16

Can humans catch cowpox off cats?

Answer 16

Yes

Can scar, can occur on the face

Question 17

Is influenza virus H5N1 notifiable in cats?

Answer 17

Yes

But rare

Question 18

How can cats catch H5N1?

Answer 18

From domestic or wild birds (eating them!) and possibly avian droppings

Question 19

Can humans catch H5N1 from other humans?

Answer 19

No, so far only animal-human transmission

Question 20

What are the clinical signs of H5N1 in cats?

Answer 20

Develop severe to fatal disease

• Raised body temperature
• Decreased activity
• Conjunctivitis
• Laboured breathing

Question 21

Can H5N1 be transmitted between cats?

Answer 21

Yes

Excrete the virus from the respiratory and digestive tracts

Question 22

How can you prevent infection of cats with avian influenza?

Answer 22

Stop pets having close contact with

• Dead or sick wild birds
• Droppings, feathers or
  carcasses of wild birds
• Feed and water bowls that wild
  birds could have accessed

You should not feed your pet non-commercial raw poultry meat, game bird, wildfowl or other wild bird meat

Question 23

Is feline spongiform encephalopathy still a significant disease?

Answer 23

Prion protein disease caused by same agent as BSE in cattle

Eradicated through changes in feeding

Causes behavioural changes, polyphagia, polydipsia, altered grooming habits, muscle fasiculations, drooling, altered gait

Question 24

What are the three main feline vaccinations?

Answer 24

FCV

FHV

FPV

Question 25

Should cats be given as many vaccinations as possible?

Answer 25

No: vaccinate each individual less frequently by only giving non-core vaccines that are neccessary for that animal

Question 26

When should you vaccinate?

Answer 26

Efficacy of kitten vaccines are dependent on MDA levels which in turn are dependent on titre in dam and ingestion of colostrum

Repeat vaccination to kittens to cover unknown levels of MDA

Avoid live vaccines in pregnant queens

Question 27

What are multivalent vaccines?

Answer 27

Incorporate more than one vaccine

• Ease of administration
• Less able to do risk/benefit
  analysis for each individual
  animal
• Duration of immunity has to
  be for product with shortest
  duration