Natural Infection with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A/H5N1 Virus in Pet Ferrets.

The study involved five ferrets from one household in Poland, comprising three sick 9-week-old juveniles, their healthy mother, and another clinically normal adult, admitted to the veterinary clinic in June 2023. The juvenile ferrets displayed significant lethargy and a pronounced unwillingness to move with accompanying pulmonary distress. Prompted by concurrent outbreaks of A/H5N1 influenza virus infections in Polish cats, point-of-care tests were conducted that revealed type A influenza antigens in the throat swabs of all five ferrets.

Upper Respiratory Tract Disease in a Dog Infected by a Highly Pathogenic Avian A/H5N1 Virus.

In summer 2023, during an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in cats in Poland, a 16-year-old dog was presented to the veterinary clinic with persistent, debilitating, dry cough, submandibular lymphadenomegaly, mild serous nasal discharge, and left apical heart murmur. A preliminary diagnosis of kennel cough was made and the treatment with amoxicillin/clavulanic acid and dexamethasone was initiated. Due to the lack of improvement within 2 days, a blood check-up, thoracic radiography and ultrasonography, and echocardiography were performed.

Feline Morbillivirus: Clinical Relevance of a Widespread Endemic Viral Infection of Cats.

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.

Feline Infectious Peritonitis: European Advisory Board on Cat Diseases Guidelines.

Feline 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.

A Fatal A/H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus Infection in a Cat in Poland.

A European Shorthair male cat, neutered, approximately 6 years of age, was presented to the veterinary clinic due to apathy and anorexia. The cat lived mostly outdoors and was fed raw chicken meat. After 3 days of diagnostic procedures and symptomatic treatment, respiratory distress and neurological signs developed and progressed into epileptic seizures, followed by respiratory and cardiac arrest within the next 3 days.

Feline Injection-Site Sarcoma and Other Adverse Reactions to Vaccination in Cats.

Vaccine-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.

Vaccination and Antibody Testing in Cats.

Vaccines 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.

Calicivirus Infection in Cats.

Feline 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.

Vaccination of Immunocompromised Cats.

Immunocompromise 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.

Integrated Basic Heart and Lung Ultrasound Examination for the Differentiation between Bacterial Pneumonia and Lung Neoplasm in Dogs-A New Diagnostic Algorithm.

The diagnostics of two of the most prevalent lung diseases in dogs, bacterial pneumonia (BP) and lung neoplasm (LN), are challenging as their clinical signs are identical and may also occur in extrapulmonary diseases. This study aims to identify ultrasonographic criteria and develop a lung ultrasound (LUS)-based diagnostic algorithm which could help distinguish between these two conditions. The study is carried out in 66 dyspneic dogs in which a heart disease was excluded using echocardiography.

Seroprevalence of Feline Foamy Virus in Domestic Cats in Poland.

Introduction: Feline foamy virus (FFVfca) is widespread and its prevalence in naturally infected domestic cats ranges between 30% and 80% worldwide. The infection is persistent, with a sustained antibody response in FFVfca-positive cats; however to date, no defined disease or clinical symptoms have been proved to be associated with it. The goal of the presented study was to determine the prevalence of FFVfca infection in domestic cats in Poland.

Lung Ultrasound for Imaging of B-Lines in Dogs and Cats-A Prospective Study Investigating Agreement between Three Types of Transducers and the Accuracy in Diagnosing Cardiogenic Pulmonary Edema, Pneumonia and Lung Neoplasia.

Transthoracic heart and lung ultrasound (LUS) was performed in 200 dogs and cats with dyspnea to evaluate the agreement between the results obtained using three types of transducers (microconvex, linear, and phased array) and to determine the accuracy of LUS in discriminating between three conditions commonly causing dyspnea in companion animals: cardiogenic pulmonary edema (CPE), pneumonia, and lung neoplasm. The agreement beyond chance was assessed using the weighted Cohen's kappa coefficient (κ). The highest values of κ (>0.

Focused Cardiac Ultrasound Examination as a Tool for Diagnosis of Infective Endocarditis and Myocarditis in Dogs and Cats.

Symptoms of infective endocarditis (IE) and myocarditis are usually nonspecific and include fever, apathy, and loss of appetite. This condition can lead to severe heart failure with ascites or/and fluid in the thoracic cavity or/and in the pericardial sac. We describe infective endocarditis and myocarditis in 3 dogs and 4 cats.

Influenza Virus Infections in Cats.

In 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.

Anthropogenic Infection of Cats during the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic.

COVID-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.

infection in cats: European guidelines from the ABCD on prevention and management.

Overview: 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.

Dirofilarioses in cats: European guidelines from the ABCD on prevention and management.

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.

Pan-European Study on the Prevalence of the Feline Leukaemia Virus Infection - Reported by the European Advisory Board on Cat Diseases (ABCD Europe).

Feline 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.

Postmortem imaging in goats using computed tomography with air as a negative contrast agent.

Purpose: Evaluation of the usefulness of air as a negative contrast medium of blood vessels in goats in post mortem computed tomography (PMCT) and establishing the protocol with appropriate doses and timing of the contrast medium administration.

Methods: Thirty three goats were euthanized 10 to 300 min before the study. First, in 3 goats air was administered into the left or right common carotid artery at dose of 60, 100 and 120 ml/kg, and after each dose PMCT was performed in lateral recumbency.

MLST and RAPD molecular analysis of Staphylococcus aureus subsp. anaerobius isolated from goats in Poland.

Staphylococcus aureus subsp. anaerobius is an etiological agent of Morel's disease in small ruminants. The infection results in superficial abscesses located near lymph nodes.

Comparison of oscillometric, Doppler and invasive blood pressure measurement in anesthetized goats.

Arterial blood pressure (BP) can be measured directly using an invasive intra-arterial method. This method is considered a gold standard, however it is potentially hazardous and requires expensive equipment and professional skills. Therefore, two non-invasive methods-Doppler ultrasonic sphygmomanometry and oscillometry-have been introduced in veterinary medicine.

Change of heart dimensions and function during pregnancy in goats.

The study aimed to evaluate the effect of pregnancy on heart diameters and function in goats. Transthoracic echocardiography of 12 female dairy goats of two Polish regional breeds was performed. A Mindray M7 diagnostic ultrasound system with Phased Array transducer was used.

Haemoplasmosis in cats: European guidelines from the ABCD on prevention and management.

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.

Reference intervals of echocardiographic measurements in healthy adult dairy goats.

Objectives: To determine references intervals for echocardiographic measurements in adult dairy goats.

Animals: 125 clinically healthy, adult dairy goats aged 2-9 years, belonging to two breeds-Polish Fawn Improved (PFI, n = 64, weight range from 46 to 73, median of 58.5kg) and Polish White Improved (PWI, n = 61, weight range from 48 to 80 kg, median of 67.

Anaplasma, Ehrlichia and Rickettsia species infections in cats: European guidelines from the ABCD on prevention and management.

Anaplasma 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.