Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Feline calicivirus as a cause of cat eye infections
By Gerriets, Wiebke et al.·Published in Veterinary ophthalmology·2012·Small Animal Clinic, Germany·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Feline calicivirus: a neglected cause of feline ocular surface infections?
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 99 cats with eye infections and recent upper respiratory issues were examined to see if feline calicivirus (FCV) was causing their symptoms. The tests revealed that 30 of the cats had FCV, often alongside other infections. Many of these cats showed signs of erosive conjunctivitis (inflammation of the eye) and oral ulcers. The findings suggest that FCV is a common cause of eye problems in young cats with respiratory infections, highlighting the importance of testing for this virus in similar cases.
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Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of feline calicivirus (FCV) infection in relation to ocular surface lesions in cats with upper respiratory tract diseases (URTD). ANIMALS STUDIED: Ninety-nine cats with ocular surface infection and symptoms or recent history of URTD were examined at various rescue shelters and hospitals. PROCEDURE: A complete general and ophthalmic examination was performed including Schirmer tear test, slit-lamp biomicroscopy, fluorescein and lissamine green staining. Clinical and ocular symptoms were scored and recorded. Conjunctival samples were collected using a cytobrush, and nucleic acid extraction using RT-PCR was carried out to analyze for the presence of various infectious agents. RESULTS: RT-PCR detected either FCV, feline herpes virus type 1 (FHV-1), Chlamydophila felis or Mycoplasma spp. in 63/99 samples. 30/63 samples were positive for FCV, 23/63 for C. felis, 21/63 for Mycoplasma spp., and 16/63 for FHV-1. Out of the 30 FCV-positive samples, 11 were positive only for FCV and in 19 samples FCV was seen in combination with other agents. FCV infection was highest in animals examined at the rescue centers and in the age group of 0-2 months. Erosive conjunctivitis was an important ocular finding. Oral ulcers were detected in all FCV-infected cats. CONCLUSION: Results indicate that FCV is highly prevalent in cats with URTD either as a sole infectious agent or in combination with other pathogens and therefore is a potential cause for ocular surface lesions during the URTD.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22050669/