Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Fatal novel orthopoxvirus infection causing skin lesions in cat
By Lanave, Gianvito et al.·Published in Emerging infectious diseases·2018·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Novel Orthopoxvirus and Lethal Disease in Cat, Italy.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A cat in Italy was diagnosed with a serious infection caused by a newly identified virus related to the orthopoxvirus family. The cat developed skin lesions and unfortunately did not survive the illness. Researchers were unable to classify the virus into a known species, but they found it to be similar to other viruses that affect animals. Ongoing studies will look into whether cats are just incidental hosts for this virus and if rodents are the main carriers. This situation highlights the need for further monitoring and research into the potential risks to both pets and humans.
People also search for: cat skin lesions virus · cat infection treatment · what is orthopoxvirus in cats
Abstract
We report detection and full-genome characterization of a novel orthopoxvirus (OPXV) responsible for a fatal infection in a cat. The virus induced skin lesions histologically characterized by leukocyte infiltration and eosinophilic cytoplasmic inclusions. Different PCR approaches were unable to assign the virus to a defined OPXV species. Large amounts of typical brick-shaped virions, morphologically related to OPXV, were observed by electron microscopy. This OPXV strain (Italy_09/17) was isolated on cell cultures and embryonated eggs. Phylogenetic analysis of 9 concatenated genes showed that this virus was distantly related to cowpox virus, more closely related to to ectromelia virus, and belonged to the same cluster of an OPXV recently isolated from captive macaques in Italy. Extensive epidemiologic surveillance in cats and rodents will assess whether cats are incidental hosts and rodents are the main reservoir of the virus. The zoonotic potential of this novel virus also deserves further investigation.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30124195/