Panleucopenia
The panleukopenia is a frequently fatal virus-induced disease cats. It is also known as feline distemper , cat distemper , infectious enteritis of cats , agranulomatosis , Aleukozytose and Katzenpest referred. The pathogen is a virus from the genus Parvovirus (from Latin parvus - small). The disease is closely related to canine parvovirus and infectious panleukopenia of marten-like. In humans, the related but much less dangerous Parvovirus B19 can cause illness.
Pathogen
The disease is triggered by a virus of the genus Parvovirus , the Feline Panleukopenia virus, with a size of around 18 to 26 nanometers in diameter. The genetic information encoded in the virus is 99% identical to that of the canine parvovirus . The virus replicates in the cell nucleus of the affected cell and requires functions that are only available during cell division. The pathogen is very insensitive to environmental influences. At room temperature it remains infectious for more than a year, most common disinfectants are unable to inactivate it . Substances effective against the virus include sodium hypochlorite , formaldehyde and glutaraldehyde .
Occurrence
The pathogen is endemic worldwide and in all cat populations . The disease can affect all species of the cat family (Felidae) and also some small bears ( raccoons , South American coatis ), kittens and mink .
The disease mainly affects young animals that are not yet immunocompetent. In domestic cats , it is most common around three to five months of age.
Pathogenesis
The pathogen enters the body through contact with infectious material (feces, nasal secretions , urine ) through the mucous membrane of the nose and mouth . The incubation period is 2 to 10 days. Since the virus needs cells with a high rate of division in order to multiply, it particularly attacks the constantly regenerating cells of the intestinal epithelium , the bone marrow and the lymphatic system .
Fetuses can be infected through the placenta while they are still in the womb.
Symptoms
The symptoms can be very variable. Some animals can even die without any previous symptoms (peracute course).
According to the affected organ systems , symptoms of the gastrointestinal tract and the immune system predominate . In addition to the occurrence of severe, often bloody diarrhea , there is a sharp decrease in white blood cells ( leukopenia ) and thus a reduction in the immune system of the diseased organism, which is therefore particularly susceptible to secondary bacterial infections.
In addition to these symptoms, the affected animals often show fatigue , reluctance to eat , dehydration , fever , nasal discharge, conjunctivitis and vomiting . Large amounts of highly infectious pathogen material are excreted with the faeces.
Prenatal and perinatal infections lead to the cerebellum - ataxia .
diagnosis
A suspected diagnosis is a lack of vaccination, age, clinical symptoms, the characteristic course and severe leukopenia. A reliable diagnosis can only be made using laboratory diagnostics.
An essential diagnostic and prognostic criterion is the number of leukocytes, which, with typical courses, drop to values of around 2000 to 4000 per microliter. If the value is below 1500, the prognosis is poor.
The virus can be detected in the feces using an electron microscope. There are also rapid tests for virus detection in the faeces, which, although they are highly specific , have a sensitivity of between 50 and 80%. In non-vaccinated cats, it can also be helpful to have antibodies in the blood.
Histopathological examinations of the small intestine, lungs, kidneys, lymph nodes and spleen as well as the cerebellum of aborted fetuses can provide clarification. Type B intranuclear ( nucleus ) inclusion bodies in intestinal epithelial cells are typical. Further symptoms in the intestine are necrosis of the intestinal crypts, loss of the intestinal villi and the lamina propria . A cerebellum - hypoplasia is typical of infected fetuses. The fluorescence detection of antibodies in small intestine and spleen samples is also a reliable indicator.
Differential diagnosis
Foreign bodies in the intestine , feline infectious peritonitis , feline coronavirus infection (FECV) , feline leukemia , feline herpesvirus infection , feline calicivirus infection and the immunodeficiency syndrome in cats must be considered in the differential diagnosis .
treatment
The treatment of sick animals is initially aimed at stabilizing the patient. For this purpose, infusions are usually necessary to prevent drying out (dehydration) and to ensure optimal nutrition. In order to avoid bacterial infections, it is necessary to administer antibiotics . The virus itself can be fought by applying interferons and serum antibodies. Most animals can be saved with intensive treatment.
Another essential aspect of the disease is compliance with strict hygiene measures to prevent the pathogen from spreading. Convalescent cats can shed the virus for up to six weeks.
prophylaxis
The most effective measure against the disease is a prophylactic vaccination, which is carried out for the first time at eight weeks of age and should be refreshed after one month. As a result, vaccination intervals of one to three years are recommended. A cat's infection can only be safely avoided with a vaccination.
Since the kittens often still have a lot of maternal antibodies in regularly vaccinated mother cats , a third booster vaccination in the fourth month of life has been recommended since July 2006. Maternal antibodies can be retained up to 20 weeks of age and apparently even small amounts of these antibodies are sufficient to prevent adequate vaccination protection. However, there are also differences between the vaccines from different manufacturers with regard to the protective effect of the first vaccinations. For a better assessment of the effectiveness of the first vaccination, a previous determination of the antibody titer in the mother cat or the maternal antibodies in the puppies is recommended.
After that, vaccination takes place after one year, with which the basic immunization is completed, and only then can it be extended to an interval of three years. However, it is still recommended for breeding facilities and animal shelters to have the booster vaccination carried out annually. The infection pressure can be higher here, since stressful situations occur more often in breeding centers, newcomers are added several times and visitors can bring parvoviruses with them.
In the case of live vaccines, protection begins two weeks after the primary vaccination. Live vaccines may not be used in pregnant cats or kittens under four weeks of age. Dead vaccines have to be used here.
literature
- Katrin Hartmann: Virus infections. In: Marian C. Horzinek et al. (Ed.): Diseases of the cat. 4th edition. Enke, 2005, ISBN 3-8304-1049-2 , pp. 107-155.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Katrin Hartmann: In-house tests in small animal practice - for which cat infectious diseases are they "useful"? In: Small Animal Medicine. No. 5, 2016, pp. 218–227 .
- ^ V. Jakel, K. Cussler, KM Hanschmann, U. Truyen, M. König, E. Kamphuis, K. Duchow: Vaccination against Feline Panleukopenia: implications from a field study in kittens . In: BMC Veterinary Research . tape 8 , 2012, p. 62 , doi : 10.1186 / 1746-6148-8-62 , PMID 22613093 , PMC 3475090 (free full text).
- ↑ ABCD Guidelines Feline Panleukopenia ( Memento from March 9, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
