Ann. Méd. Vét., 2007, 151 (2), pp 61-78 Feline herpesvirus 1, the causative agent of feline viral rhinotracheitis.COSTES B., VAN DEN BRANDE A., THIRY E.,Abstract :
Infectious respiratory diseases also called ‘cat flu’ are nowadays one of the most relevant areas of feline medicine. Epidemiologic surveys revealed that 80% of
the cases are due to feline calicivirus and Felid herpesvirus 1 (FeHV-1). FeHV-1 is an alphaherpesvirus that has a worldwide distribution in cat population.
It is responsible for feline viral
rhinotracheitis. This disease can be acute, chronic or latent. It is
characterized by fever and respiratory or ocular signs among which conjunctivitis and keratitis are the most common. Severe
cases can cause complete blindness of the cat mostly following repetitive reactivations. Latent viral carriers are epidemiologically important because they are the main source of infection to
susceptible cats. Nowadays no vaccine can prevent infection. At best, available vaccines help to reduce clinical signs but fail to prevent establishment of latency or reactivation. Consequently,
feline viral rhinotracheitis still
represents a major problem in domestic cats. This review focuses on the current knowledge about feline viral rhinotracheitis and its etiologic agent, FeHV-1. Get the PDF Contact person : a.vdplasschen@ulg.ac.be |