Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Hepadnavirus found in cat blood samples and infections
By Lanave, Gianvito et al.·Published in Scientific reports·2019·Department of Veterinary Medicine, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Identification of hepadnavirus in the sera of cats.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A domestic cat in Australia with large cell lymphoma was found to have a new type of hepadnavirus, which is similar to the virus that causes hepatitis in humans. Researchers tested 390 cat blood samples and discovered that about 11% contained this virus, with a higher rate in cats showing signs of illness. In some of these cats, blood tests indicated potential liver damage, especially in those with higher levels of the virus. This suggests that the hepadnavirus could pose a risk for liver problems in infected cats.
People also search for: cat liver disease symptoms · hepadnavirus in cats · cat lymphoma treatment · signs of liver damage in cats
Abstract
Hepadnaviruses infect several animal species. The prototype species, human hepatitis B virus (HBV), increases the risk of liver diseases and may cause cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Recently a novel hepadnavirus, similar to HBV, has been identified through transcriptomics studies in a domestic cat with large cell lymphoma in Australia. Herewith, a collection of 390 feline serum samples was screened for hepadnavirus. Overall, the virus was identified in 10.8% of the sera with a significantly higher prevalence (17.8%) in the sera of animals with a clinical suspect of infectious disease. Upon genome sequencing, the virus was closely related (97.0% nt identity) to the prototype Australian feline virus Sydney 2016. The mean and median values of hepadnavirus in the feline sera were 1.3 × 10and 2.1 × 10genome copies per mL (range 3.3 × 10-2.5 × 10genome copies per mL). For a subset of hepadnavirus-positive samples, information on the hemato-chemical parameters was available and in 10/20 animals a profile suggestive of liver damage was present. Also, in 7/10 animals with suspected hepatic disease, virus load was >10genome copies per mL, i.e. above the threshold considered at risk of active hepatitis and liver damage for HBV.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31337847/