Non-Suppurative Encephalomyelitis in Cats Suggestive of a Viral Origin

Abstract

In 10 of 16 domestic cats with spontaneous non-suppurative encephalomyelitis, lesions were multifocal but relatively few and were considered nonspecific as to cause, although viral agents could not be excluded. Six cats had polioencephalomyelitis or polioencephalitis suggestive of viral infection. The clinical and morphological features are compared with those of previous reports of feline encephalitis possibly of viral origin. Some previously reported epidemiological and serological surveys suggest a possible role for arboviruses.

Infectious diseases of the central nervous system

“…Later studies usually assessed for FIV, FeLV, FIP, and Toxoplasma gondii and, in some cases, for FHV-1, FCV, FPV, and Borrelia burgdorferi. In almost all cases, the cats have been found to be negative for all these agents [1,4,5,10,23,44,112].…”

“…We now know that some diseases result from chronic insidious infections and that this is particularly true within the relatively protected confines of the CNS. In addition, progressively more [8,24,36,37,44,167].…”

“…Much speculation has concerned the arboviruses (the arthropod-borne encephalomyelitis group) and whether or not they may be responsible for significant natural CNS infection in cats [44]. Many of these viruses have been shown to cause natural or experimental infection in cats.…”

“…Affected individuals tend to have a subacute to chronic course that may last for months. Partial recovery may be seen in some cats, which can go on to live for many years [44,109,112]. Disease is most commonly sporadic [44,109,119]; however, there are also reports describing what seems to be the chronic form of this condition within large groups of research cats in the United Kingdom [111,112].…”

“…These seem to comprise a group of diseases that are possibly related, and the histopathologic changes suggest a viral origin. They are geographically widespread and have been reported in Australia [108], the United States [109], Canada [4,5,23], Sweden [10,71,78], Norway [110], Switzerland [44], and the United Kingdom [1,111,112]; other potential cases have been seen as widely distributed as Morocco [113] and Sri Lanka [114]. A similar condition has been found in a number of large cats, including lions and tigers [115][116][117][118].…”