Infectious Diseases Flashcards
Which virus is responsible for >80% of cat flu cases?
List another virus responsible for cat flu
Feline calici virus (FCV)
FHV-1
List 3 bacterial causes of cat flu
- Mycoplasma felis
- Pasturella spp.
- Streptococcus equi (zooepidemicus)
List 3 ways you can diagnose cat flu
- Isolation & culture
- PCR
- Serology (limited)
Which antibiotic is most appropriate to treat cat flu?
Doxycycline
What is the carrier status of FHV-1 in cats?
80% are life long carriers (intermittent shedders)
What is the carrier status of FCV in cats?
100% shed at 30 days
50% shed at 75 days
10-25% shed long term
*No real latency, carriers will shed the virus while infected
How long can FHV-1 survive in the environment?
< 24 hours
How long can FCV survive in the environment?
8-10 days
List 3 possible treatments for FHV-1 cat flu
- L-lysine
- Famcycovir
- Polyprenyl immunostimulant
Describe a general treatment course for cat flu
Antibiotics and fluid/nursing support
How is cat flu spread
Via aerosols
List 5 ways to manage the spread of cat flu
- Decrease stocking density
- Increase air flow
- Provide sneeze barriers
- Disinfection
- Stop breeding
Which virus causes acute cat flu
How is the infection classified?
Highly pathogenic vascular systemic FCV (VS-FCV)
Severe systemic haemorrhagic fever like vascular systemic disease
Which group is more affected by acute cat flu (VS-FCV)
Adult cats
List 2 clinical signs of acute cat flu (VS-FCV)
Provide 3 additional general clinical signs
- SQ oedema / ulcerative dermatitis
- Coagulopathy / systemic vasculitis (DIC)
Pyrexia, mouth ulcers and nasal discharge
Why is VS-FCV so prevelent in crowded, high stress environments (i.e., resuce centres)?
There is a lot of FCV biodiversity in large groups (different strains, persistent/coinciding infections), meaning the virus is likely to keep re-infecting animals in the centre and recombine with other strains to make a highly pathogenic and virulent strains
There is also lots of non-neutralizing immunity, which means cats in these centres will not present with VSD, just cat flu
What happens when you take a cat with VS-FCV out of a resuce centre and introduce it to a non-exposed cat, and why?
The non-exposed cat will develop VSD from the highly pathogenic FCV, because the virus will have an altered cell tropism and basically infect everywhere
List 3 ways you can diagnose VS-FCV
- Epidemiology
- Isolation & culture
- Post mortem
Serology is of limited value
List a treatment option for VS-FCV
High dose interferon
Or remdesivir
Is vaccination effective against VS-FCV?
No
List 3 viral causes of feline infectious peritonitis
Which causes more severe disease?
- Feline coronaviruses
- Feline enteric coronaviruses
- Feline infectious peritonitis viruses
FIPVs
Good MCQ
Describe the pathogenesis of FIP
- Oral infection
- Replication in pharynx & intestines
- Invades enterocytes
- Systemic infection & immune response
- Widespread dissemination
Why is there such a high risk with FIP?
They are RNA viruses so they can readily mutate - when they infect & replicate in macrophages they can mutate to an even more pathogenic strain
List 3 factors affecting the host’s response to FCoV
- Dose of the virus
- Age of the cat
- Genetics of the cat
What is the majority outcome of infection with FCoV?
Transient infection
How many cats infected with FCoV develop FIP?
5-10%