Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Coinfection with Clostridium piliforme and Felid herpesvirus 1 in a kitten.
- Journal:
- Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation : official publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc
- Year:
- 2015
- Authors:
- Neto, Rachel T et al.
- Affiliation:
- Veterinary Medicine and Agronomy College · United States
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 1-month-old Domestic Shorthair kitten was found to have died after experiencing symptoms like a runny nose, trouble breathing, and diarrhea. This kitten was the third from its litter to die in a month with similar issues. During the examination, the kitten had severe eye inflammation, nasal inflammation, and lung problems, which were linked to an infection with Felid herpesvirus 1. Additionally, there were signs of intestinal infection caused by a type of bacteria called Clostridium piliforme, which is known to cause a disease called Tyzzer's disease. Unfortunately, this case highlights a serious situation where the kitten had both infections, and it did not survive.
Abstract
A 1-month-old Domestic Shorthair kitten was submitted for autopsy, with a history of upper respiratory tract infection and diarrhea. This was the third kitten from the same litter that had died with similar clinical findings within a period of 1 month. Severe conjunctivitis, rhinitis, tracheitis, and bronchointerstitial pneumonia were present, together with lymphohistiocytic colitis. Respiratory lesions were caused by infection with Felid herpesvirus 1. Colonic lesions were associated with the presence of long filamentous bacteria, identified as Clostridium piliforme, in the cytoplasm of epithelial cells. Our report describes a case of concurrent C. piliforme infection (Tyzzer's disease) and feline rhinotracheitis in a kitten.
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: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26179103/