D3212 - Feline Herpes virus

Description:

Feline herpes virus 1 (FHV-1) is found worldwide and is a very common disease of cats. Approximately 50 to 70% of adult cats have antibodies to the virus and the infection rate can be up to 100% in susceptible, unvaccinated cats. Mortality, however, is usually quite low, with the exception is in kittens, where the mortality rate can reach 30%. Mortality is higher with stress or concurrent infections. Feline herpes virus 1 infections can occur at any time of year, but are slightly more common in the summer and fall because of the higher number of susceptible kittens at this time. All ages of cats are susceptible but infection is more common in kittens which can be infected as early as two weeks of age or, rarely, may be born infected. Most infections occur at five to eight weeks of age when the maternal antibody is decreasing and before most kittens are routinely vaccinated. There is no sex predilection. While any cat can be infected, the incidence is higher in situations where large numbers of cats are housed together, such as in catteries, shelters, and boarding facilities. Infection can be spread between cats in three ways. First, there can be aerosol or direct transmission from an acutely infected cat (i.e. showing signs of the disease) to a susceptible cat. There are large quantities of virus shed in oral, nasal, and ocular discharges and sneezing can propel virus particles attached to water droplets for three or four feet in still air. Secondly, the virus can also survive in the environment for short periods of time, allowing for transmission via contaminated food dishes, cages, utensils and people. Finally, the most important mechanism of transmission is via asymptomatic carriers which are latently infected. In times of stress, such as moving, boarding, kittening or corticosteroid administration, these cats can be induced to shed the virus which can then infect other susceptible cats or kittens in the area. There is a lag period of 1 week between the stress and the beginning of shedding of viral particles and shedding can last for up to 2 weeks. Approximately 80% of feline herpes virus 1 recovered cats remain latently infected and at least 50% of these are likely to shed virus at some time in their lives. diagnosis.

Diagnosis:

Diagnosis of feline herpes virus 1 infection is much more difficult in chronically infected animals. This is because the virus can remain latent in a carrier for long periods without reactivation, thus the infected animal will neither show any signs of disease nor shed the virus in nasal/ocular discharges. Even when the carrier does experience an episode of viral reactivation, the clinical signs are often mild and the number of virus shed is usually too low to be detected by conventional methods. Diagnosis can be improved by using a more sensitive detection technique such as PCR. A PCR for feline herpes virus 1 has been developed to detect the thymidine kinase gene in the viral genome. The PCR is shown to be 25% more sensitive than conventional cell culture based virus isolation techniques in detecting virus in oral and ocular swabs. Positive PCR test result confirms active infection.

Sample:

1. Oral and ocular swabs.
2. Whole blood (2 ml) in a lavender top (EDTA) tube.

Special Handling:

Store blood sample and swab at 4°C until pick up or shipment.

Test Code:

D3212