Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Topical aciclovir helps treat herpes eye infection in cats
By Williams, D L et al.·Published in The Veterinary record·2005·Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Efficacy of topical aciclovir for the treatment of feline herpetic keratitis: results of a prospective clinical trial and data from in vitro investigations.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of cats with eye problems, including conjunctivitis and keratitis caused by feline herpesvirus (FHV-1), were treated with a topical medication called aciclovir applied five times a day. Initially, they received another treatment for a different infection, but once FHV-1 was confirmed, they switched to aciclovir. The cats showed a median recovery time of 12 days, indicating that frequent use of aciclovir can help improve symptoms of FHV-1 eye infections, despite it not being the first choice for this condition.
People also search for: cat eye infection treatment · feline herpesvirus symptoms · aciclovir for cats eye problems
Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of topical ophthalmic aciclovir applied five times daily as a treatment for feline herpesvirus type 1 (FHV-1) keratitis in a group of cats in a first-opinion practice setting. Cats with ocular signs indicative of FHV-1 or Chlamydophila species infection, predominantly conjunctivitis and keratitis, were tested for FHV-1 antigen using an immunofluorescent technique on air-dried conjunctival swabs. They were first treated with topical chlortetracycline with efficacy against Chlamydophila species and then, in cases positive for FHV-1, with topical aciclovir. The time to recovery was determined and illustrated using a Kaplan-Meier plot. Three cats were infected with Chlamydophila species and showed a median time to recovery of 14 days (95 per cent confidence interval [CI] 10 to 18 days), while 30 cats infected with FHV-1 showed a median time to recovery of 12 days (95 per cent CI 10 to 14 days). The drug dose at which 50 per cent plaque reduction (ED50) occurred in a standard plaque reduction assay was determined in an in vitro study. This showed a mean (SD) ED50 of aciclovir of 25 (3.5) mg/ml compared with 0.4 (0.05) mg/ml for trifluorothymidine, a drug known to be efficacious against FHV-1. The study shows that even though aciclovir is generally considered to lack efficacy against ocular FHV-1 infection, when used frequently it can have a beneficial effect in FHV-1 conjunctivitis and keratitis.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16127135/