Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Listerial mesenteric lymph node infection in 3 cats and treatment
By Fluen, Thomas W et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2019·The Veterinary Specialist Group·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Listerial mesenteric lymphadenitis in 3 cats.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
Three cats were diagnosed with listerial mesenteric lymphadenitis, a rare infection that causes swollen lymph nodes in the abdomen. These cats showed various symptoms, and during exams, vets found enlarged lymph nodes both by touch and on ultrasound. All three cats survived the illness, but two had been eating a raw meat-based diet before getting sick, which might have contributed to their condition. Treatment details weren't specified, but the cats' recovery suggests that with proper care, they can overcome this serious infection.
People also search for: cat swollen lymph nodes · listeriosis in cats · raw meat diet cat health · cat abdominal ultrasound results
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Listeriosis is a rare disease in cats with naturally occurring cases usually being identified in individual animals. Listerial mesenteric lymphadenitis has not been described previously in cats. OBJECTIVES: To describe the clinical and histological features of listerial mesenteric lymphadenitis in cats as well as treatment outcome. ANIMALS: Listerial mesenteric lymphadenitis was confirmed in 3 cats by histology, immunohistochemistry, and bacterial culture. RESULTS: The affected cats were young to middle aged and were examined for various clinical signs. On both palpation and abdominal ultrasound examination, all cats had marked mesenteric lymphadenomegaly. Survival was prolonged in all 3 cases. Two of the 3 cats were fed a raw meat-based diet before they developed clinical illness. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Lymphadenitis caused by listeriosis has a protracted time course and should be a differential diagnosis for abdominal lymphadenopathy in young to middle-aged cats. Feeding of a raw meat-based diet may be a contributing factor for development of listeriosis in cats.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31134693/