Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Severe systemic feline calicivirus infection in cats in Italy
By Caringella, Francesca et al.·Published in Research in veterinary science·2019·Department of Veterinary Medicine, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Feline calicivirus infection in cats with virulent systemic disease, Italy.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
Three cats in Italy were diagnosed with a serious illness caused by a highly contagious virus called feline calicivirus (FCV), which usually leads to mild respiratory issues. These cats showed severe symptoms and were also infected with another virus, feline panleukopenia virus. One cat underwent further testing, revealing significant damage to its internal organs due to the FCV infection. The study confirmed that dangerous strains of FCV are present in Italy, but identifying this severe disease can be challenging because clear genetic and clinical markers are still unknown.
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Abstract
Feline calicivirus (FCV) is a contagious viral pathogen that usually causes a mild, self-limiting respiratory disease. More recently, highly virulent FCV strains have emerged and have been associated with severe systemic infection, referred to as virulent systemic disease (VSD). The objective of this study is to report VSD cases in Italian cats along with the molecular characterization of two detected FCV strains. Three client-owned cats showed clinical signs resembling to those described for VSD cases. The cats were subjected to molecular investigations for detection of FCV and other feline pathogens. Histopathology and immunohistochemistry were performed on internal organs of one cat; molecular characterization of two detected FCV strains was obtained through sequence and phylogenetic analyses. Putative VS-FCV strains were detected in all three cats, which were co-infected with feline panleukopenia virus. The cat submitted to histopathology and immunohistochemistry displayed severe histological changes and FCV antigens in internal organs. Two Italian FCV strains, for which amplification of ORF2 was successful, were strictly related and formed a unique phylogenetic cluster. These viruses did not show consistent changes in the amino acid sequences with respect to reference VS-FCVs. The results of our study confirm that VS-FCV strains are circulating in Italy and that VSD diagnosis is complicated since both genetic and clinical markers have not been identified so far.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30844542/