Background: Feline herpesvirus 1 (FHV-1) is a common cause of ocular and upper respiratory disease in cats and kittens, and a potential cause of eosinophilic dermatitis.
Hypothesis: The systemic anti-herpes drug, famciclovir (Famvir; Novartis), would be effective in the clinical management of disease attributable to FHV-1, including conjunctivitis, keratitis, corneal sequestra, rhinosinusitis and FHV-1 associated dermatitis.
Clinical Outcome: Oral famciclovir was used to treat signs considered referable to FHV-1 in 10 cats: four had primary ocular disease, two had rhinosinusitis and four had FHV-1 associated dermatitis. Patients treated in Australia (five cats) and Europe (one cat) were given 62.5 mg of famciclovir once or twice daily. Four cats treated in the USA were given 125 mg three times daily. Famciclovir was uniformly well tolerated and, in all cases, had a positive impact on the patient's condition. The apparent improvement in lesions was superior to what had been achieved previously using other therapeutic strategies. One cat with severe destructive rhinosinusitis was significantly improved by a 4-month course of famciclovir in combination with antibacterials. Corneal sequestra detached in two out of three cats treated; cats with ocular signs were qualitatively more comfortable, with reduced clinical signs and an improved appearance of the eyes. Critically, oral famciclovir therapy was considered more convenient than topical ocular therapy. All four cats with FHV-1 associated dermatitis improved substantially, although relapse occurred subsequently in three patients. A further cat with presumptive FHV-1 associated dermatitis responded to topical aciclovir cream before famciclovir could be sourced.
Conclusions: Famciclovir appears to be a promising systemic drug for treating diseases associated with FHV-1 infection. More rigorous clinical trials are required to optimise the dosing regimen for safe and effective specific anti-herpes treatment in feline clinical medicine.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11135480 | PMC |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfms.2008.11.012 | DOI Listing |
Vet Sci
October 2024
Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Viral Vectors for Biomedicine, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China.
FHV-1 is a highly contagious pathogen that significantly threatens feline health and contributes to rising pet healthcare costs. The mechanisms underlying FHV-1 and host interactions remain poorly understood. For the first time, we conducted a systematic analysis of transcriptomic changes in CRFK cells following FHV-1 infection using RNA-seq.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Vet Sci
June 2024
Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Feline calicivirus (FCV) is a significant viral pathogen causing upper respiratory tract and oral diseases in cats. The emergence of the virulent systemic FCV variant (VS-FCV) has raised global concern in the past decade. This study aims to explore the epidemiology, genetic characterization, and diversity of FCV strains circulating among Thai cats.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVet Microbiol
August 2024
Laboratory of Animal Infectious Diseases and Molecular Immunology, College of Animal Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, PR China; Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Engineering Research Center of Veterinary Biologics, Nanning 530004, PR China; Guangxi Key Laboratory of Animal Breeding, Disease Prevention and Control, Nanning 530004, PR China. Electronic address:
Feline upper respiratory tract disease (URTD) is a common but complicated disease that occurs in domestic cats, worldwide. 396 cats in Guangxi Province, China were screened for URTD-associated pathogens from March 2022 to August 2023. Mycoplasma felis was found to be the most prevalent infectious agent with a positivity rate of 24.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAn Acad Bras Cienc
December 2023
Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia/UFMS, Av. Senador Filinto Muller, 2443, 79070-900 Campo Grande, MS, Brazil.
Pol J Vet Sci
December 2023
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Veterinary, Ataturk University, 25240 Yakutiye/Erzurum, Turkey.
Feline herpesvirus-1 (FHV-1) can cause lifelong problems such as rhinotracheitis and ocular disease due to latency and reactivation in affected cats. The particular effects of antiviral drugs have been separately investigated in previous studies for decades and little is known about the combination treatment in active FHV-1 infection. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the effects of antiviral combination on clinical effectiveness in cats with naturally occurring FHV-1 infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!