Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome in domestic cats in Japan
By Matsuu, Aya et al.·Published in Veterinary microbiology·2019·Joint Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Natural severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus infection in domestic cats in Japan.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of cats in Japan were diagnosed with a serious illness called severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS), which can also affect humans. These cats showed symptoms like loss of appetite, extreme tiredness, fever, and vomiting. Unfortunately, the disease had a high fatality rate, with 62.5% of the infected cats not surviving. Blood tests revealed low platelet counts and other concerning changes. This situation highlights the importance of awareness about SFTS, especially for outdoor cats, as it poses a risk to both pets and humans.
People also search for: cat vomiting and lethargy · SFTS in cats · outdoor cat fever symptoms · cat blood test results explained
Abstract
Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is a recently discovered emerging infectious disease. A zoonotic disease with a high fatality rate in human beings, clinical information on SFTS virus (SFTSV) infection in animals is important. Since 2017, we have diagnosed 24 client-owned cats living in western Japan with SFTS, by genetic and serological testing. In this study, we characterized the clinical features of SFTS in cats and their associated risk factors, by evaluating the clinical parameters retrospectively. A phylogenetic analysis on SFTSV was also conducted. There were no obvious tendencies in age or sex, outdoor cats were commonly at risk of SFTSV infection. All infected cats showed acute onset of clinical signs including anorexia and lethargy, while 68.2% of the cats showed fever and 41.7% showed vomiting. The case fatality rate was 62.5%. Thrombocytopenia, leukopenia, and elevated serum total bilirubin, serum amyloid A, and creatinine phosphokinase concentration were the characteristic findings in the first clinical blood examination. Phylogenic analysis revealed that regional clustered viruses infect both humans and cats. For pet owners and animal hospitals, SFTS in small animals could be an important public health issue.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31500732/