2023-08-16 15:34:00
If the Covid-19 continues to claim victims in humans, animals, and more particularly cats, are not spared from diseases. Indeed, an epidemic seems to be spreading among our feline friends: cat typhus. In Angoulême, in the west of France, several cases have been detected since the beginning of the summer.
According to estimates, at least 20 felines died from it between July and early August 2023. The departmental media Charente Libre estimates that the victims came from different places of reception: a city veterinary clinic as well as the associations 3 P’tits chats-rentais and 1001 Pattes. Last year, several cases were also identified in the city.
What is cat typhus?
The typhus du chatalso known as panleukopenia, is a contagious infection that can be fatal for unvaccinated or vulnerable cats (kittens). “The panleukopenia virus infects rapidly multiplying cells and most commonly invades the gastrointestinal tract, bone marrow and lymphoid tissues,” the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association details on its website.
Contagion occurs mainly through stools and urinebut also by direct contact with contaminated objects or by contact with humans who have touched an infected animal. The cat will then ingest the virus when grooming. Symptoms of the virus usually appear two to seven days following infection:
- hemorrhagic diarrhea ;
- nausea;
- vomiting;
- tremors;
- fever ;
- extreme tiredness;
- and a decrease in appetite.
“In adult cats, disease may be subclinicalwhich means that they do not show clinical signs of infection, but that they still shed the virus which can be contracted by other cats“, details the association. The virus can be rejected by the body up to six weeks following infection and persist in the environment for one year.
Cat typhus: focus on vaccination and sterilization
To deal with this virus, the establishments concerned have taken measures. The association Trois P’tits chat-rentais has suspended adoptions and cats showing symptoms are placed in quarantine. For their part, volunteers must wear sterile clothing to avoid spread the virus to other felines present on site. The Véto 16 veterinary clinic is adopting the same strategy.
As with any disease, the best protection is prevention. Thus, for prevent the spread of the epidemichealth professionals insist on the importance of vaccines. Moreover, they emphasize sterilization. Indeed, according to them, one of the reasons for the spread of the virus is the number of stray cats, and therefore not vaccinated, in Angoulême. Patricia Couturier, co-president of the Trois P’tits chat-rentais association, concludes with the Charente media: “There are too many unsterilized stray cats in Angouleme. They are born in atrocious conditions and can be disease carriers“.
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