Feline Parvo

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rose ricciuto - 08 Nov 2003 21:59 GMT

There is a large outbreak of feline parvo in Polk county in central
Florida. According to news reports it's incredibly contagious, hard to
kill, completely fatal virus. They are euthanizing over 70 cats and
kittens at the shelter to try to stem the outbreak and then they will
attempt to sterilize the facility with bleach so it can reopen. I've
never heard of feline parvo and I do live in Polk county with 3 adopted
ferals.
Does anyone have any info or advice on this virus? I'll be calling the
vet on Monday but I'm worried now!
Deeply appreciate any help or advice.

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Phil P. - 10 Nov 2003 16:00 GMT

> There is a large outbreak of feline parvo in Polk county in central
> Florida. According to news reports it's incredibly contagious, hard to
> kill, completely fatal virus.

FPV is an *entirely* preventable disease. The extremely effective FPV
vaccine has kept the virus in check for the last 20 years. There's
absolutely no excuse for FPV epidemics! Mass euthanasias from FPV went out
in the 70s!

FPV is not a completely fatal disease. If the cats can be supported for 5-7
days after onset of the disease, the chances of recovery are usually good to
excellent. The only kittens we've lost to FPV were already in the terminal
stages of the disease. Even some kittens who are already in the terminal
stages have been saved with whole blood transfusions from cats with high
titers to FPV.

They are euthanizing over 70 cats and

> kittens at the shelter to try to stem the outbreak

How incompetent/untrained/unqualified people like that are appointed and
placed in charge of shelters and the lives of hundreds of animals boggles
the mind - it must be nepotism. Shelter managers and directors should be
required by law to be certified in disease surveillance and prevention and
basic population medicine. Epidemics can be easily avoided by simply
isolating and testing *all* animals upon admission and limiting housing to
groups of no more than 4-6 animals.

The CITE Canine parvovirus antigen fecal immunoassay (Idexx Labs) although
its not licensed for feline parvovirus, it will nonetheless detect FPV
antigen in feline feces. This test makes it possible to isolate infected
cats and begin therapy *before* the kittens develop symptoms.

and then they will

> attempt to sterilize the facility with bleach so it can reopen.

FVRCP vaccines for non-profit organizations cost not much more than
bleach -- including the needle and syringe! The virus is extremely stable
and can survive for years on contaminated surfaces. The virus is resistant
to most house disinfectants - except bleach.

In high-risk situations (such as your shelter's present situation), and
especially kittens who did not receive colostrum, the kittens can be
immunized with small doses of FPV antiserum from cats with high titers to
FPV. Antiserum confers protection until their immune system develops an
immunological response to the vaccine. However, just as maternal antibodies
interfere with vaccine-induced immunity, the immunity conferred by
antiserum can also interfere with vaccine-induced immunity, thus the
standard FPV vaccine protocol should be followed (series of 3 vaccinations
at 3-week intervals).

I've

> never heard of feline parvo and I do live in Polk county with 3 adopted
> ferals.
> Does anyone have any info or advice on this virus?

http://www.maxshouse.com/feline_panleukopenia.htm

I'll be calling the

> vet on Monday but I'm worried now!

> Deeply appreciate any help or advice.

How old are your kittens? Have they completed the FPV vaccine series?Read
the above article and pay careful attention to the symptoms at the beginning
of the article.

Since your kittens came from a high-risk situation, I'd err on the side of
caution and ask your vet to run a blood test and a parvovirus antigen
fecal test. The hallmark of FPV is a very low or falling WBC count, usually
<5000 cells/dL.

Best of luck.

Phil

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Alison Perera - 10 Nov 2003 17:29 GMT

> > There is a large outbreak of feline parvo in Polk county in central
> > Florida. According to news reports it's incredibly contagious, hard to
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> absolutely no excuse for FPV epidemics! Mass euthanasias from FPV went out
> in the 70s!

In case it isn't clear from Phil's post, feline parvovirus causes
panleukopenia aka distemper, a well-known disease of cats.

I'm not sure Phil is aware, however, that in parts of the country (I
want to say northeast but am not sure), a new strain of distemper/FPV
has been erupting, that is quite contagious and quite fatal. I believe
it breaks through the common vaccines (though it's apparent that there's
a much lower fatality rate among vaccinated individuals). I don't have
much more information than that, only that cat rescuers I converse with
online have had near 100% fatalities among kittens that have passed
through shelters, despite ordinary precautions. An outbreak last year
was devastating; at least one woman has lost a litter this year and was
on pins and needles afraid she had infected another litter or worse yet
her own household. (It proved a false alarm.)

This sounds like a wave of the same new strain.

It's scary stuff, and makes a person grateful for modern vaccines.

-Alison in OH

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Phil P. - 10 Nov 2003 22:23 GMT

> > > There is a large outbreak of feline parvo in Polk county in central
> > > Florida. According to news reports it's incredibly contagious, hard to
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
> want to say northeast but am not sure), a new strain of distemper/FPV
> has been erupting, that is quite contagious and quite fatal.

I'm in the northeast... I've heard rumors about a "new killer strain" of FPV
from California to New York, but neither my shelter or the shelters we work
with have encountered any such supervirus.

There's a strong possibility, at least in some cases, the vaccines failed
because the protocol wasn't followed correctly.

If you come across a journal article or "official" statement (e.g., Cornell)
please post it.

Phil

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Jason - 10 Nov 2003 22:43 GMT

I have also posted under another thread "Vomitting, Diarrhoea, and
Normal Temperature?", some of my cat's symptoms seem to fall inline
with this disease. Is this common to be passed from a kitten to an
adult cat. I was looking after my girlfriends kitten for a while. her
cat is showing no signs of sickness. Mine started to get sick not too
long after her's left. Can akitten be a carrier but not be impacted
itself? My cat is 100% indoors and I am not sure if this was covered
in his last vacination.

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Cheryl - 11 Nov 2003 01:43 GMT

[...]

> This sounds like a wave of the same new strain.
>
> It's scary stuff, and makes a person grateful for modern vaccines.
>
> -Alison in OH

This past summer there was a horrid breakout of panleuk here (mid
Atlantic region). I remember it vividly; it was just before Jul 4th.
I trapped 9 kittens and 4 mothers in a woman's yard for the SPCA and
all 9 kittens got sick within a week of being in the clinic getting
vetted, neutered and awaiting foster homes. Many many others got sick
as well, and I was kenneling at a fosterers house while she was away
for the long holiday weekend and out of about 40 kittens at her house,
about 20 had severe cases. Some of the older cats were ill, too. I
don't know if any of the adults died but many kittens did. If I'd
known ahead of time the conditions at her house I would have never
accepted the job. I have a FeLV+ cat at home (who was well-vaccinated
before getting sick and even had a booster against my better judgement
earlier this year but it was probably good that he did). I took all
the normal precautions like having a change of clothes at her house,
changed back before leaving, didn't wear my shoes in my house,
showered when I got home after each visit 2x per day, etc. None of
mine got sick but it was the worst, most heart-breaking wave of death
in the group I've ever seen.

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