Pertanika 7(2), 125-126 (1984)

COMMUNICATION III

A Case of Feline Panleukopenia in MalaysiaConfirmed by Electron Microscopy

RINGKASAN

Satu kes feline panleukopenia dalam seekor kucing rumah berumur 18 bulan adalah dilaporkan.Tanda-tanda klinik utama ialah tidak berselera makan, kemasyghulan, ceret dan kekeringan badan.Perubahan-perubahan patologi yang biasa seperti atrofi vilus dan erosi pada epithelia usus kecil telah di­temui. Pemeriksaan najis menggunakan mikroskop lektron telah menunjukkan benda-benda yang men­yerupai parvovirus.

SUMMARY

A typical case of feline panleuk~penia in ~n 18 ;nonth-old domestic ca~ is repo~ted. The dise~se

was characterised clinically by anorexza, depresszon, dzarrhoea and dehydratzon. Typzcal pathologzcalchanges of severe villous atrophy and erosion of the small intesti;"al epitheliu;n were o~served. Electronmicroscopic examination of the faeces revealed the presence ofpartzcles resemblzng parvovzrus.

INTRODUCTION

Feline panleukopenia (FPL) is a highly conta­gious disease of domestic as well as exotic speciesof cats. It is caused by parvovirus and charaterisedby an explosive and short course and a high casemortality rate. ·The disease has a worldwide dis­tribution, being enzootic in many countries(Gillespie and Scotts, 1973). In Malaysia, it isgenerally considered to be common on the basis ofclinicopathological evidence and cats are routinelyvaccinated against it. There has been, however,only one documented report of FPL which wasseen in 3 leopard cats (Chong, 1970).

The purpose of this communication is toreport a case of FPL in a domestic cat in Malaysiawhich was confirmed by electron microscopicdemonstration of the causal virus in the faeces.

HISTORY

An 18 month-old unvaccinated male domesticshort-haired cat was presented to the VeterinaryTeaching Hospital, Universiti Pertanian Malaysiawtih a history of anorexia and diarrhoea for theprevious five days. This was the second cat in thathousehold to become ill. Two days previously,a 5 month-old cat had died following anorexiaand depression of one day duration. In the imme­diate neighbourhood, two adult cats and theirsix suckling kittens had died within days ofeach other in the past week. Another neighbourhad also lost one cat in the same week. All thecats mentioned had not been vaccinated againstFPL.

CLINICOPATHOLOGICAL FINDINGS

On physical examination, the cat was obser­vec,i to be severely dehydrated, had a bodytemperature of 36.1°C and was in a state ofshock. A grave prognosis wi.s given and the catwas treated with warmed physiological saline,ampicillin and vitamin B12, and placed in acomfortably warm cage. However, it died onehour later.

The gross lesions seen at necropsy consistedof marked dehydration and emaciation. The lungswere severely congested and \oedematous. Thegastrointestinal tract was slightly dilated and itswall oedematous and congested. The serosalsurface of the entire small intestine was moderate­ly hyperaemic and contained generalized pete­chiae which were also ¥isible on the mucosalsurfaces which was covered with fibrinousexudate. The mesentric lymph nodes wereslightly enlarged, oedematous and congested.

Microscopically, the small intestine exhibitedvillous atrophy and erosion of the surface epithe­lium. Numerous bacterial colonies and markedectasia of capillaries were observed on the remain­ing intact surface epithelium. The crypts weredilated by serous fluid, and many containeddesquamated eosinophilic necrotic ephithelial cellsThese dilated crypts were lined by mostlyflattened epithelial cells, several of which hadintranuclear inclusion bodies. The lamina propriawas moderately infiltrated by lymphocytes.

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A.R. SHEIKH OMAR, I.P.R. AWANG, A. LATIFF IBRAHIM and B.Y: CHENG.

Electror. microscopic examination of thefaecal sample using the method previously des­cribed by Faridah and others (1980), revealedminute particles in clumps with morphologicalfeatures resembling parvovirus (Figure 1).

Fig. 1. Electron mieroscopic appearance ofparvovirus-like particles observed in thesaeces (Bar = 55 nm)

DISCUSSION

The clinicopathological findings in this caseare consistent with those occuring in natural andexperimental FPL as reported by other workers(Carpenter, 1971; Langheinrich and Nielsen,1971). It is believed that the cats in the neigh­bourhood were all susceptible to FPL virus as theywere all not vaccinated against FPL. The sucklingkittens might not have acquired a passive im­munity against FPL since the immunity woulddepend on the immune status of the dams. Duringthe clinical phase of the disease, the virus isusually secreted in faeces, urine and saliva and thenatural infection occurs by ingestion or inha­lation of the virus (Gillespie and Scott, 1973).Contaminated hands, animal contacts, flyinginsects, airborne dust and droplets may spreadthe infection among the neighbourhood cats.

This is the first report in Malaysia of FPLsuspected based on the typical clinicopathologicalevidence which was subsequently confirmed bydemonstration of the causal virus in the faecesunder electron microscope. The electron micro­scopic examination is not however carried outroutinely to reach a diagnosis. Histophathologicalevidence is considered sufficient to confirm aclinically suspected case.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We thank Ms Lai Chooi May for technicalassistance in electron microscopy.

A. R. Sheikh OmarLP.R. AwangA. Latiff IbrahimB. Y. Cheng.

Fakulty of Veterinary Medicineana Animal Science

Universiti Pertanian Malaysia,S-erdang, Selangor.

REFERENCES

CARPENTER. J.L:(1971): Feline panleukopenia: clinicalsigns and differential diagnosis. J. Am. Vet. Med.Ass. 158: 857- 859

CHONG. S.K. (1970): Annual Rep., Vet. Res. Inst.,Div. Vet. Service, Min. Agric. Malaysia. p18.

FARIDAH. N., IBRAHIM A.L., TAN. S.E. & LAI.C.M. (1980): A case of parvovirus infection in a dog.Kajian Vet: Malay. 12: 39-41.

GILlESPIE. J.R. and SCOTT. F.W. (173): Feline viralinfections Adv. Vet. Sci. and Compo Med. 17:164-200.

LANGHEINRICH. K.A. and NIELSEN. S.W. (1971):Histopathology of feline panleukopenia: a report of65 cases. J. Am. Vet. Med. Ass. 158: 863-872.

(Received 19 March 1984)

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