Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Corneal nerve damage and eye surface changes in cats exposed
By Sebbag, Lionel et al.·Published in Frontiers in veterinary science·2020·Koret School of Veterinary Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Altered Corneal Innervation and Ocular Surface Homeostasis in FHV-1-Exposed Cats: A Preliminary Study Suggesting Metaherpetic Disease.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of cats exposed to feline herpesvirus-1 (FHV-1) showed signs of eye problems, including reduced tear production and sensitivity in the cornea. These cats had higher clinical scores indicating discomfort and lower tear film stability compared to healthy cats that had never been exposed to the virus. The study suggests that FHV-1 may lead to ongoing eye issues, similar to what is seen in humans with herpes simplex virus. While the exact treatment wasn't detailed, recognizing these symptoms can help pet owners seek appropriate care for their cats.
People also search for: cat eye problems FHV-1 · feline herpesvirus symptoms · cat tear production issues · how to treat cat corneal sensitivity
Abstract
Metaherpetic disease is recognized in humans affected by herpes simplex virus-1 but is not reported in cats affected by feline herpesvirus-1 (FHV-1) despite the high prevalence of herpetic disease in this species and strong similarities in viral biology between alphaherpesviruses of humans and cats. This preliminary work evaluated cats naïve to FHV-1 (= 9 cats, 18 eyes; control population) and cats naturally exposed to FHV-1 (= 4 cats, 7 eyes), as confirmed by serologic testing and review of medical records. Antemortem assessment included clinical scoring, blink rate, corneal aesthesiometry, tear film breakup time (TFBUT), and Schirmer tear test-1 (STT-1) with or without the nasolacrimal reflex. Post-mortem assessment involved confocal microscopy of the corneas and evaluation of corneal nerves with ImageJ. Groups were compared with Student's-tests and results are presented as mean ± standard deviation. Compared to control, herpetic cats had significantly higher (≤ 0.010) clinical scores (0.2 ± 0.4. 4.6 ± 2.8) and response to nasolacrimal stimulation (7.8 ± 10.8%. 104.8 ± 151.1%), significantly lower (< 0.001) corneal sensitivity (2.9 ± 0.6 cm. 1.4 ± 0.9 cm), STT-1 (20.8 ± 2.6 mm/min. 10.6 ± 6.0 mm/min), TFBUT (12.1 ± 2.0 s. 7.1 ± 2.9 s), and non-significantly lower blink rate (3.0 ± 1.5 blinks/min. 2.7 ± 0.5 blinks/min;= 0.751). All parameters evaluated for corneal nerves (e.g., nerve fiber length, branching, occupancy) were notably but not significantly lower in herpetic. control cats (≥ 0.268). In sum, cats exposed to FHV-1 had signs suggestive of corneal hypoesthesia and quantitative/qualitative tear film deficiencies when compared to cats naïve to the virus. It is possible these are signs of metaherpetic disease as reported in other species.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33575276/