Prognostic potential of copper, zinc, copper/zinc ratio, cobalamin, and serum amyloid A in cats with panleukopenia.

BACKGROUND: Copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and the copper/zinc ratio (Cu/Zn), which have been studied in gastrointestinal disorders of humans, may facilitate disease prognosis. OBJECTIVE: Evaluate the predictive potential of Cu, Zn, cobalamin, and serum amyloid A (SAA) as prognostic indicators in cats with feline panleukopenia (FPV) on admission. ANIMALS: Client-owned cats diagnosed with FPV and controls. METHODS: Serum Cu and Zn concentrations were assessed using the spectrophotometric method and serum concentrations of SAA and cobalamin were measured by chemiluminescent immunoassay. RESULTS: On admission, survivor cats with FPV had significantly higher serum Cu and SAA concentrations and Cu/Zn ratios and significantly lower serum Zn and cobalamin concentrations than controls. Furthermore, non-survivor cats with FPV had significantly higher serum Cu and SAA concentrations and Cu/Zn ratios and significantly lower cobalamin concentrations than survivors and controls. Prognostic thresholds were calculated, with positive predictive value (PPV) for survival of 90% for Cu (≥120.3 µg/dL), 90% for Cu/Zn (≥1.34), 90% for cobalamin (≤430.4 pg/mL), and 90% for SAA (≥0.85 mg/L). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Cu (0.93 area under curve [AUC]), Cu/Zn (0.95 AUC), cobalamin (0.98 AUC), and SAA (0.98 AUC) were excellent biomarkers for predicting prognosis in cats with FPV. Their effectiveness, as assessed by sensitivity (100%), specificity (80%), AUC (0.98), and PPV (90%) from receiver operating characteristic analysis, emphasizes the performance of cobalamin and SAA.

Genetic characterization of parvoviruses identified in stray cats in Nigeria.

Parvoviruses are a major cause of haemorrhagic gastroenteritis, leukopenia and high mortality in cats and dogs. In this study, the presence and genetic characteristics of parvoviruses circulating among cats in Nigeria are reported. Faecal samples of stray cats from live animal markets in southwestern (Oyo and Osun States) and north-central (Kwara State) Nigeria were screened for the presence of parvoviral DNA using a qPCR. Positive samples were further characterized using a qPCR based on minor groove binder probes. Overall, 85/102 (83.3 %) stray cats tested positive for feline panleukopenia virus (FPV) DNA and one cat was co-infected with canine parvovirus-2 type a. Sequence analysis of the complete capsid region of 15 Nigerian FPV strains revealed that they were up to 99.9 % similar to the American reference strain FPV-b at the nucleotide level, and three of them presented amino acid mutations in key capsid residues. This is the first report of identification and molecular characterization of FPV strains in cats in Nigeria. The high prevalence of the virus emphasizes the need for constant surveillance of the circulation of parvoviruses in Nigeria and underscores the need to deploy an effective vaccination strategy.

Achados patológicos e imuno-histoquímicos em felinos domésticos com panleucopenia felina / Pathologic and immunohistochemical findings of domestic cats with feline panleukopenia

A panleucopenia felina é uma importante doença infectocontagiosa de felinos domésticos, principalmente em animais com menos de um ano de idade. Este trabalho descreve os achados clinicopatológicos e o diagnóstico imuno-histoquímico de 33 casos de panleucopenia felina. Os principais sinais clínicos relatados foram vômito, diarreia e anorexia. As alterações mais frequentes na necropsia foram mucosa intestinal avermelhada (16/33), evidenciação das placas de Peyer (14/33) e conteúdo intestinal liquefeito (7/33). Os achados histológicos mais frequentes no intestino foram necrose (33/33) e infiltrado inflamatório linfo-histiocitário na mucosa (31/33), fusão (27/33) e atrofia de vilosidades (26/33). Em órgãos hematopoiéticos as alterações se caracterizavam principalmente por necrose e rarefação celular. Obteve-se resultado imuno-histoquímico positivo para parvovírus em 84,85% dos casos analisados. O intestino delgado foi o melhor órgão para detecção viral, com imunomarcação em 84,85%. Dentre os órgãos linfoides, o baço apresentou o melhor resultado, com 47,37% dos cortes analisados positivos. A pesquisa revelou importantes lesões no intestino delgado e em órgãos linfoides e a técnica da imuno-histoquímica demonstrou-se eficiente na detecção do parvovírus...

Feline panleukopenia is an important infectocontagious disease of domestic feline, especially in animals under 1 year. This paper describes the clinical-pathological findings and the immunohistochemical diagnosis of 33 cases of feline panleukopenia. The most important clinical signs were vomiting, diarrhea, and anorexia. The main gross findings observed were reddening of intestinal mucosa (16/33), evidentiation of Peyer patches (14/33), and liquefied intestinal content (7/33). The most consistent histological findings were necrosis (33/33) and lymphohistiocytic inflammatory infiltrate in the intestinal mucosa (31/33), villus fusion (27/33) and villus atrophy (26/33). In the hematopoietic tissues, the findings were characterized mainly by necrosis and tissue depletion. Parvovirus positive immunohistochemichal results were obtained in 84.85% of the cases analyzed. The best organ for viral detection was the intestine, with 84.85% of labeling in the immunohistochemichal technique. The spleen showed the best result among lymphoid organs, with 47.37% of the sections positive. This study presents most important lesions in the small intestine and in lymphoid organs and the immunohistochemistry proved good results in the detection of parvovirus...