Cat flu

Cards (20)

  • Herpes virus is part of the core vaccine group and is a live attenuated vaccine, this vaccine can come in a combination vaccine with FCV and FPLV. This vaccine will not completely prevent an infection by it will reduce the severity and shorten the length of the illness.
    • Titres for FHV is not known to correlate well with protective immunity so should not be used instead of vaccines.
  • Calicivirus is also part of the core vaccine group, and is a modified live vaccine (attenuated). FCV is a mutating virus so vaccinated cats can still be infected but the disease severity will be greatly reduced and may even mean there is no clinical manifestation of the disease.
    • Kittens can have shifting lameness after a vaccination but should go away
    This vaccine comes in a combination form with FHV and FPLV.
    • Calicivirus may spread to the lower respiratory tract and cause pneumonia.
  • Titres for FCV is not known to correlate well with protective immunity so should not be used instead of vaccines.
    • Cats with latent herpes infections can appear negative, hence a negative result is not a true negative
  • is chlamydia a core vaccination?
    no
  • Clinical signs include: tongue/mouth ulcers, discharge from the nose and eyes (may be small, unilateral or bilateral), lethargic etc
    • Remember tongue ulcers can also occur from licking things the cat shouldn’t have licked!
  • what are the possible causes of cat flu?
    herpesvirus, calicivirus, chlamydia, bordertella (uncommon) and mycoplasma
  • cat flu is a “Flu” syndrome, predominantly caused by FHV or Chlamydia due to close contact or poor hygiene but can also be due to FCV via fomite spread.
    • Stress control important for all.
  • Diagnosis is important only when it will change management. The options for diagnosis include
    • Oral or ocular swabs and specific viral transport mediums
    • Virus isolation (FCV/FHV).
    • Polymerase Chain Reaction (FHV/Chlamydia felis) –qPCR the best
    Not all microbes found are necessarily to blame
  • herpesvirus affects the cat for life and cats can shed this without any disease signs. It is an enveloped DNA virus (FHV-1) that has a stress-related recrudescence.
  • herpesvirus causes "flu" signs, ocular ulcers, herpetic dermatitis and damages the nasal bones. Kittens that have had cat flu become chronic snufflers due to this damage.
    • Chronic rhinitis is the name for the snuffles and can be a sequel to cat flu, flare ups often occur under periods of stress. It is very frustrating to manage but it is important to rule out any non-viral causes. Treatment includes aerosol therapy, decongestants and antivirals (L-lysine, interferon omega and famciclovir)
  • calicivirus is a very hardy, fast evolving RNA virus that is closely related to norovirus. It is shed by more than 80% of cats in a multi-cat household and can be shed without the cat showing clinical signs.
    • FCV can mutate and cause spontaneous outbreaks of severe disease even in adult healthy, vaccinated cats. It has a 50% mortality and is spread via fomites.
  • Common signs of calicivirus include flu symptoms, tongue ulcers and floppy/lame kittens due to synovitis
    • Feline chronic gingivitis stomatitis (FCGS) is associated with FCV (and also FIV) but the causation is not established. It can be very frustrating to treat with some dental treatments leading to full mouth extractions. Medications include antibacterials, corticosteroids and interferon. Treatment is long-term, can be costly and might not work.
  • feline chronic ginigivitis stomatitis is association with what?
    FIV and calicivirus
  • Chlamydophila is an intracellular bacterium-like organism which requires close contact for transmission.
    • It can initially appear unilateral where there is inflamed changes in the eye/conjunctiva (that can be quite drastic)
    • Treatment includes antibiotics such as doxycycline and it is important to treat all in-contact animals
  • doxycycline has a specific salt type that can create an acidic environment which leads to oesophageal ulcers and hence oesophageal stricture
  • Treatment can be split into three groups and most of the time it is supportive
    A) hydrated
    B) mirtazipine
    C) IVFT
    D) warm
    E) potassium chloride
    F) famciclovir
  • The key factors for prevention include hygiene, implementing barriers and good ventilation. To control the spread it is important to reduce cat-cat transmission, reduce stress and use suitable disinfectants.
    • FHV is very labile (easy to kill)
    • FCV is more resistant so quaternary ammonium compounds are not effective
  • the following are CORE vaccines…
    • Feline Panleukopenia Virus (Feline Parvo Virus, FPV, Feline Infectious Enteritis)
    • Feline Herpes Virus
    • Feline Calicivirus
  • what clinical signs would you expect from an animal with URT signs?
    clear or coloured discharge from the eyes or nose, sneezing, coughing, ulcers in the mouth, lethargy, anorexia and swelling of the mucous membranes (conjunctivitis)
  • polyps can cause similar signs as seen with cat flu