Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Feline herpesvirus in blood during first infection and flare-ups
By Westermeyer, Hans D et al.·Published in American journal of veterinary research·2009·Department of Surgical and Radiological Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Assessment of viremia associated with experimental primary feline herpesvirus infection or presumed herpetic recrudescence in cats.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of young and adult cats were studied to see if feline herpesvirus (FHV-1) could be found in their blood during an initial infection or a reactivation of the virus. The young cats showed signs of upper respiratory and eye problems after being exposed to the virus, and FHV-1 DNA was found in their blood at various times during the study. However, in the adult shelter cats, while many showed symptoms of infection, the virus was not found in their blood cells. This suggests that the virus can briefly enter the bloodstream during a first-time infection but not during a reactivation.
People also search for: cat herpesvirus symptoms · feline upper respiratory infection treatment · why is my cat sneezing and has eye discharge
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To detect feline herpesvirus type 1 (FHV-1) in blood of cats undergoing experimental primary herpetic disease or with spontaneous disease presumed to be caused by FHV-1 reactivation. ANIMALS: 6 young specific-pathogen-free (SPF) cats and 34 adult cats from a shelter. PROCEDURES: Conjunctiva and nares of SPF cats were inoculated with FHV-1, and cats were monitored for 21 days. Periodically, blood was collected for CBC, serum biochemical analyses, and detection of FHV-1 DNA via PCR assay. For shelter cats, a conjunctival swab specimen was collected for FHV-1 PCR assay, and blood mononuclear cells were tested via virus isolation (with or without hydrocortisone) and FHV-1 PCR assay. RESULTS: All SPF cats developed clinical and clinicopathologic evidence of upper respiratory tract and ocular disease only. Via PCR assay, FHV-1 DNA was detected in blood of all SPF cats at least once between 2 and 15 days after inoculation. Feline herpesvirus type 1 DNA was detected in conjunctival swabs of 27 shelter cats; 25 had clinical signs of herpetic infection. However, virus was not isolated from mononuclear cell samples of any shelter cat regardless of passage number or whether hydrocortisone was present in the culture medium; FHV-1 DNA was not detected in any mononuclear cell sample collected from shelter cats. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: A brief period of viremia occurred in cats undergoing primary herpetic disease but not in cats undergoing presumed recrudescent herpetic disease. Viremia may be important in the pathogenesis of primary herpetic disease but seems unlikely to be associated with recrudescent disease.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19119954/