Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Virulent feline calicivirus disease in an Italian shelter cat
By M. Battilani et al.·Published in Research in Veterinary Science·2013·View original on Semantic Scholar →
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Original publication title: Virulent feline calicivirus disease in a shelter in italy: A case description
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 5-year-old male cat named Oscar, who was living in a shelter in Northern Italy and infected with feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), developed severe symptoms from a virulent strain of feline calicivirus (FCV). Unlike typical FCV infections that cause mild respiratory issues, Oscar showed signs of a more serious systemic disease, which ultimately led to his death. Despite being in close contact with other cats in the shelter, they did not show any symptoms. This case highlights the potential for FIV to worsen the effects of FCV, leading to more severe illness in some cats.
People also search for: cat calicivirus symptoms · FIV and calicivirus in cats · shelter cat respiratory disease
Abstract
Feline calicivirus (FCV) is a common pathogen of cats that is particularly widespread in multi-cat environments such as shelters and catteries. FCV infections are usually associated with acute, mild and self-limiting upper respiratory tract disease characterized by oral vesicles/ulcers. Recently, virulent systemic disease (VSD) associated with FCV infection has been reported in the USA and Europe. This paper describes a case of VSD affecting one adult, FIV infected cat (“Oscar”) living in a shelter located in Northern Italy; the clinical, post-mortem and laboratory findings indicate that this is the first case of suspected FCV-VSD in this country. Similar to a previous report (Meyer et al., 2011), the disease affected only one cat, while others remained asymptomatic, despite their direct contact with “Oscar”. Phylogenetic analysis identified unique features in the “Oscar” FCV isolate. The FIV infection of the patient might have favoured the generation of the virulent FCV strains in this cat.
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Search related cases →Original publication on Semantic Scholar: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/23433681