Gastrointestinal ultrasonographic findings in cats with Feline panleukopenia: a case series

Abstract

Background Feline panleukopenia virus (FPV) is very resistant and highly contagious and infects domestic cats and other felids. FPV is particularly widespread among sheltered cats, and is associated with high morbidity and mortality, causing severe gastroenteritis characterized by anorexia, lethargy, fever, dehydration, hemorrhagic diarrhea, and vomiting. There is currently no data on the ultrasonographic features of cats affected with FPV. This case series describes abdominal ultrasonographic findings in shelter cats with naturally-occurring FPV, and assesses whether are associated with clinical and laboratory findings. Cats affected by FPV were enrolled in the study if an abdominal ultrasound was performed within 12 hours of diagnosis. Clinical, laboratory and survival data were collected from medical records. Ultrasonographic examinations were reviewed for gastrointestinal abnormalities and their associations with the above data were explored. Results Twenty-one cats were included. Nine cats (42.9%) died and 12 (57.1%) recovered. Based on ultrasonography, the duodenum and jejunum showed thinning of the mucosal layer in 70.6% and 66.6% of cats, thickening of the muscular layer in 52.9% and 57.1% of cats, and hyperechogenicity of the mucosa in 41.2% and 33.3%. Jejunal hyperechoic mucosal band paralleling the submucosa and irregular luminal surface were both observed in 33.3% of the cats. Survival was positively associated with increased jejunal mucosal echogenicity (P = 0.003) and hyperechoic mucosal band (P = 0.003). Peritoneal free fluid was positively associated with vomiting (P = 0.002). Conclusions This study provides ultrasonographic features of naturally-occurring FPV in cats, which, as expected, are compatible with gastroenteropathy. The most frequent findings were diffuse small intestine mucosal layer thinning, muscular layer thickening and mucosal hyperechogenicity, jejunal hyperechoic mucosal band and irregular luminal surface. Ultrasonographic features may be useful to complete the clinical picture and assess the severity of the gastroenteropathy in FPV cats. Prospective studies are needed to confirm ultrasonographic prognostic factors.

Investigation of canine parvovirus occurrence in cats with clinical signs of feline panleukopenia in Slovakia – pilot study

“…On the other hand, only two cats in close contact with parvovirus-infected animal tested antigen and PCR positive. The mortality rate in our study was 8.69% (2/23), which is a significantly lower rate than that in other studies, where it ranged from 50% to 90% ( 6 , 8 , 19 ). Sequencing of positive samples and their subsequent BLASTn analysis excluded CPV-2 infection and confirmed the presence of FPV.…”

Establishment of RPA-Cas12a-Based Fluorescence Assay for Rapid Detection of Feline Parvovirus

“…In particular, FPV generally causes mild symptomatic or asymptomatic infection in most mature cats. However, FPV excretion in swabs from infected mature cats may cause a variety of potentially severe infections for newborn cats, even life-threatening ( Isaya et al 2021 ). Thus, a faster, simpler, and more cost-effective detection method for FPV has become increasingly significant to protect vulnerable and high-risk cats, especially in resource-limited settings.…”

China-origin G1 group isolate FPV072 exhibits higher infectivity and pathogenicity than G2 group isolate FPV027

“…It has been reported that FPV mainly replicates in small intestinal crypt cells and lymphoid cells ( 43 ). Replication often leads to bleeding in the small intestine and stomach, which is the main cause of hemorrhagic diarrhea in cats ( 41 ).…”