Lab 3.8 Cases

Question 1

symptoms associated with acute FIV?

Answer 1

-Peripheral lymphadenopathy
-Fever
-Weight loss
-Anemia
-Gingivitis, and stomatitis
-Nasal & oral discharge
-Anorexia
-Behavioral change

Question 2

symptoms associated with chronic FIV?

Answer 2

-Opportunistic bacterial, viral, and
fungal infections
-Progressive weight loss
-Severe wasting
-Chronic recurrent respiratory,
ocular, and intestinal disease

Question 3

details of FIV

Answer 3

-Retroviridae
-Infects CD4+ T lymphocytes
-Causes progressive immunodeficiency disease
-Incubation period 1 month – 10 years
-Disease progression parallels decline of CD4+ T cells
-How did Maverick get infected?
-Horizontal transmission by virus contaminated saliva (bites)
-Vertical transmission (infected queens to their kittens)
-Male and outdoor cats are most at risk

Question 4

How would you explain the wide range of clinical findings, including the behavioral changes? (FIV)

Answer 4

• FIV attacks the immune system, leaving the cat vulnerable to many other infections
• Systemic compromise of the immune system’s ability to use lymphocytes
• More likely to acquire illness in different systems – oral, respiratory, GI, etc
• Pain associated with chronic inflammation and infection can result in behavior changes

Question 5

Should we be concerned about false positive results? (FIV)

Answer 5

Infected mother transfer FIV antibodies to nursing kittens

Question 6

key fact to remember when testing for FIV

Answer 6

when a cat is first infected with FIV, its immune system develops
antibodies against the virus that persist in the blood for the rest of its life

Question 7

Diagnosis of Feline immunodeficiency

Answer 7

-Serological assays for FIV cannot
distinguish naturally infected and
vaccinated cats (although the
commercial vaccine is discontinued)

-Positive serological test in kittens can
detect passively transferred antibodies from the dam and not due to active infection.

Question 8

What is the prognosis for FIV (in general)?

Answer 8

-The lifespan of FIV infected cats is highly variable
-With management, cats can often live “normal” lives
-Cats with the virus can be asymptomatic for a long time
-More than 50% are asymptomatic for 5 years
-20% die within 2 years of diagnosis (which is often 4-6 years after infection if they are not tested until they are symptomatic)

Question 9

what type of follow up/changes should be made for FIV positive patients? (6)

Answer 9

-Visiting the veterinarian at least every 6 months
-CBC, biochemistry, and urinalysis recommended
-Promptly treating secondary infections
-Providing a balanced diet (no raw foods)
-Controlling parasites
-Antiviral Zidovudine (AZT, Reverse transcriptase inhibitor)
-Reduce viral replication, but side effects
-Maverick should be spayed or neutered and kept indoors to minimize exposure

Question 10

What should be done to prevent FIV transmission?

Answer 10

• The most important measure for the control of FeLV and FIV is the identification and segregation of infected cats!
• Cats of unknown retrovirus status should be housed individually in shelters
• FIV-infected cats should be spayed or neutered and kept indoors to minimize exposure

Question 11

gold standard testing for scrapie

Answer 11

Immunohistochemistry and western blot are used to confirm - gold standard techniques

Question 12

details of scrapie

Answer 12

● Fatal disease that affects the central nervous system of sheep and goats = It is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE)

● The infectious agent of the TSEs is now widely accepted to be an abnormal form of a protein called a prion

● Normal prions are present in every mammal and bird

● When an abnormal prion enters a healthy animal, it alters existing prions and changes their folding into the disease-associated form

Question 13

how can scrapie be transmitted

Answer 13

Exposure to disease associated prions from another infected animal (usually in the pastures)

Question 14

clinical signs of scrapie

Answer 14

-Subtle changes in behavior or temperament
-Pruritus, loss of coordination
-Weight loss
-Adult sheep since it develops slowly
-However, once an animal appears ill, it will typically die within a few months

Question 15

sheep susceptibity to scrapie

Answer 15

-Current scientific literature indicates that the presence of certain combinations of amino acids on the sheep’s prion gene can influence susceptibility to scrapie

-In North America codons at positions 136 and 171 are of primary importance in association with scrapie

Question 16

is scrapie a reportable disease OIE list

Answer 16

yes

Question 17

who needs to contact the CFIA if scrapie is suspected

Answer 17

Producers and veterinarians that suspect an animal may be infected with scrapie must contact the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)

Question 18

what needs to happen in terms of surveillance with scrapie farms

Answer 18

• Surveillance (5 years)
• Any sheep or goat over 12 months that dies or is euthanized on farm may be tested for scrapie

Question 19

what needs to happen to a farm if they have had scrapie

Answer 19

-Thorough investigation of the farm
~flock records, including births, sales and exchanges of animals for at least the last 5 years
~incidents of commingling with other sheep or goats from other farms

-Scrapie susceptibility testing by the CFIA

-All sheep (9 months and older) will be genotyped

-Destruction and disposal based on genotyping results

-Those animals considered to be at low risk (resistant) for scrapie infection are allowed to remain on the farm

-Those animals considered to be intermediate and high risk (susceptible) for scrapie infection should be destroyed

-Cleaning and disinfection (prions are very resistant)

• Surveillance (5 years)
  ~Any sheep or goat over 12 months that dies or is euthanized on farm may be tested for scrapie

Question 20

what are some other important prion diseases in animals ?

Answer 20

-Scrapie (sheep) OIE list
-Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, cattle) OIE list
-Chronic wasting disease (deer, elk, CNS + other tissues)