Feline morbillivirus (FeMV) was first isolated in 2012 from stray cats in Hong Kong. It has been found in association with tubulointerstitial nephritis (TIN), the most common cause of feline chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, viral host spectrum and virus tropism go beyond the domestic cat and kidney tissues.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFeline coronavirus (FCoV) is a ubiquitous RNA virus of cats, which is transmitted faeco-orally. In these guidelines, the European Advisory Board on Cat Diseases (ABCD) presents a comprehensive review of feline infectious peritonitis (FIP). FCoV is primarily an enteric virus and most infections do not cause clinical signs, or result in only enteritis, but a small proportion of FCoV-infected cats develop FIP.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVaccine-associated adverse events (VAAEs), including feline injection-site sarcomas (FISSs), occur only rarely but can be severe. Understanding potential VAAEs is an important part of informed owner consent for vaccination. In this review, the European Advisory Board on Cat Diseases (ABCD), a scientifically independent board of feline medicine experts, presents the current knowledge on VAAEs in cats, summarizing the literature and filling the gaps where scientific studies are missing with expert opinion to assist veterinarians in adopting the best vaccination practice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAfter an incubation period of weeks to months, up to 14% of cats infected with feline coronavirus (FCoV) develop feline infectious peritonitis (FIP): a potentially lethal pyogranulomatous perivasculitis. The aim of this study was to find out if stopping FCoV faecal shedding with antivirals prevents FIP. Guardians of cats from which FCoV had been eliminated at least 6 months earlier were contacted to find out the outcome of their cats; 27 households were identified containing 147 cats.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVaccines protect cats from serious diseases by inducing antibodies and cellular immune responses. Primary vaccinations and boosters are given according to vaccination guidelines provided by industry and veterinary organizations, based on minimal duration of immunity (DOI). For certain diseases, particularly feline panleukopenia, antibody titres correlate with protection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFeline calicivirus (FCV) is a common pathogen in domestic cats that is highly contagious, resistant to many disinfectants and demonstrates a high genetic variability. FCV infection can lead to serious or even fatal diseases. In this review, the European Advisory Board on Cat Diseases (ABCD), a scientifically independent board of experts in feline medicine from 11 European countries, presents the current knowledge of FCV infection and fills gaps with expert opinions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImmunocompromise is a common condition in cats, especially due to widespread infections with immunosuppressive viruses, such as feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline leukaemia virus (FeLV), but also due to chronic non-infectious diseases, such as tumours, diabetes mellitus, and chronic kidney disease, as well as treatment with immunosuppressive drugs, such as glucocorticoids, cyclosporins, or tumour chemotherapy. In this review, the European Advisory Board on Cat Diseases (ABCD), a scientifically independent board of experts in feline medicine from eleven European countries, discusses the current knowledge and rationale for vaccination of immunocompromised cats. So far, there are few data available on vaccination of immunocompromised cats, and sometimes studies produce controversial results.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFeline infectious peritonitis (FIP) is a systemic immune-mediated inflammatory perivasculitis that occurs in a minority of cats infected with feline coronavirus (FCoV). Various therapies have been employed to treat this condition, which was previously usually fatal, though no parameters for differentiating FIP recovery from remission have been defined to enable clinicians to decide when it is safe to discontinue treatment. This retrospective observational study shows that a consistent reduction of the acute phase protein alpha-1 acid glycoprotein (AGP) to within normal limits (WNL, i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the past, cats were considered resistant to influenza. Today, we know that they are susceptible to some influenza A viruses (IAVs) originating in other species. Usually, the outcome is only subclinical infection or a mild fever.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCOVID-19 is a severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) caused by a new coronavirus (CoV), SARS-CoV-2, which is closely related to SARS-CoV that jumped the animal-human species barrier and caused a disease outbreak in 2003. SARS-CoV-2 is a betacoronavirus that was first described in 2019, unrelated to the commonly occurring feline coronavirus (FCoV) that is an alphacoronavirus associated with feline infectious peritonitis (FIP). SARS-CoV-2 is highly contagious and has spread globally within a few months, resulting in the current pandemic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis is the first report of a successful treatment of a non-effusive feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) uveitis case using an oral adenosine nucleoside analogue drug and feline interferon omega, and alpha-1 acid glycoprotein (AGP) as an indicator of recovery. A 2-year-old male neutered Norwegian Forest Cat presented with uveitis, keratic precipitates, mesenteric lymphadenopathy and weight loss. The cat was hypergammaglobulinaemic and had a non-regenerative anaemia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOverview: is a common obligate intracellular microsporidian parasite of rabbits that is increasingly recognised as a pathogen of cats and other mammalian species. These guidelines aim to review the literature on feline infection and provide recommendations on prevention and management.
Infection In Cats: infection should be considered as a differential diagnosis in cases of feline uveitis and cataract formation.
Overview: and the most important filarial worms, causing heartworm disease and subcutaneous dirofilariosis, respectively. is currently considered an emerging zoonotic agent in Europe.
Life Cycle And Infection: Filarial worms infect mainly dogs, but also cats, ferrets, wild carnivores and humans.
Feline coronavirus (FCoV) is common among cats living indoors in groups. In about 10% of infected cats, a potentially lethal disease, feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) occurs. Virus transmission is faecal-oral.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFeline leukaemia virus (FeLV) is a retrovirus associated with fatal disease in progressively infected cats. While testing/removal and vaccination led to a decreased prevalence of FeLV, recently, this decrease has reportedly stagnated in some countries. This study aimed to prospectively determine the prevalence of FeLV viraemia in cats taken to veterinary facilities in 32 European countries.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) is caused by infection with feline coronavirus (FCoV). FCoV is incredibly contagious and transmission is via the faecal-oral route. FCoV infection, and therefore FIP, is most common in breeder and rescue catteries, where many cats are kept indoors, using litter trays.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate a feline coronavirus (FCoV) reverse transcriptase quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) on fine-needle aspirates (FNAs) from mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs) collected in sterile saline for the purpose of diagnosing non-effusive feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) in cats.
Methods: First, the ability of the assay to detect viral RNA in MLN FNA preparations compared with MLN biopsy preparations was assessed in matched samples from eight cats. Second, a panel of MLN FNA samples was collected from a series of cats representing non-effusive FIP cases (n = 20), FCoV-seropositive individuals (n = 8) and FCoV-seronegative individuals (n = 18).
Overview: Haemoplasmas are haemotropic bacteria that can induce anaemia in a wide range of mammalian species. Infection in cats: Mycoplasma haemofelis is the most pathogenic of the three main feline haemoplasma species known to infect cats. ' Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum' and ' Candidatus Mycoplasma turicensis' are less pathogenic but can result in disease in immunocompromised cats.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnaplasma species, Ehrlichia species and Rickettsia species are vector-borne pathogens infecting a wide variety of mammals, but causing disease in very few of them. Infection in cats: Anaplasma phagocytophilum is the most important feline pathogen among these rickettsial organisms, and coinfections are possible. Little information is available on the pathogenesis of these agents in cats.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOverview: Hepatozoonosis of domestic cats has been reported in several countries, mainly as a subclinical infection.
Disease Agent: Infection has been described mostly in areas where canine infection is present and, in recent years, Hepatozoon felis has been identified as a distinct species by molecular techniques. The vector for feline hepatozoonosis remains unknown and the pathogenesis has not been elucidated.
Overview: Cytauxzoon species are apicomplexan haemoparasites, which may cause severe disease in domestic cats, as well as lions and tigers. For many years, cytauxzoonosis in domestic cats was only reported in North and South America, but in recent years the infection has also been seen in Europe (Spain, France and Italy).
Infection: Cytauxzoon felis is the main species; it occurs as numerous different strains or genotypes and is transmitted via ticks.
Overview: Cardiopulmonary nematodes are emerging parasites of cats in Europe. A number of helminth parasites may be involved. The most prevalent lungworm in domestic cats is Aelurostrongylus abstrusus.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOverview: Streptococcus canis is most prevalent in cats, but recently S equi subsp zooepidemicus has been recognised as an emerging feline pathogen.
S Canis Infection: S canis is considered part of the commensal mucosal microflora of the oral cavity, upper respiratory tract, genital organs and perianal region in cats. The prevalence of infection is higher in cats housed in groups; and, for example, there may be a high rate of vaginal carriage in young queens in breeding catteries.
Overview: West Nile virus (WNV) is a zoonotic mosquito-borne virus with a broad host range that infects mainly birds and mosquitos, but also mammals (including humans), reptiles, amphibians and ticks. It is maintained in a bird-mosquito-bird transmission cycle. The most important vectors are bird-feeding mosquitos of the Culex genus; maintenance and amplification mainly involve passerine birds.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOverview: Borna disease virus (BDV) has a broad host range, affecting primarily horses and sheep, but also cattle, ostriches, cats and dogs. In cats, BDV may cause a non-suppurative meningoencephalomyelitis ('staggering disease').
Infection: The mode of transmission is not completely elucidated.