Mycoplasma Haemofelis: Feline Tiny Blood Parasite Essay

Feline Herpes Virus 1 is a highly contagious virus among cats, also known as Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis. It is one of the most common causes of upper respiratory infections and colds in cats. All cats are prone to the virus, but kittens and cats with a weakened immune system are at a higher risk of contracting it. The virus is most commonly contracted through cat-to-cat transmission, such as a cat coming into contact with an infected cat’s eye, mouth or nose discharge, sharing litter boxes, sharing food and water dishes, and through mutual grooming. A mother cat may pass it on to her kitten in the womb if she is infected. It can also be found in shelters and multi-cat households. Symptoms of FHV-1 include sudden onset bouts of sneezing,

My cat was 7 months old and he was diagnose with FELINE INFECTIOUS PERITONITIS or known as FIP. Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) is a viral disease of cats caused by certain strains of a virus called the feline coronavirus. Most strains of feline coronavirus are avirulent, which means that they do not cause disease, and are referred to as feline enteric coronavirus. Cats infected with a feline coronavirus generally do not show any symptoms during the initial viral

When an animal develops typical symptoms such as cardiac, pulmonary or those of mixed form of the disease, African horse sickness should be suspected (CFSPH, 2006). The fever form of the disease can sometimes be misdiagnosed as an early febrile stage of AHS or early febrile form of any other equine disease since it is difficult to differentiate them (Coetzer and Guthrie, 2004). It is common to confuse the clinical signs and lesions of the AHS and those of equine echephalosis (Coetzer and Guthrie, 2004; Mellor and Hamblin, 2004; CFSPH, 2006). Differential diagnosis must include diseases such as equine echephalosis, viral arteritis, equine infectious anaemia, Hendra virus infection, purpura hemorrhagica, and equine piroplasmosis (CFSFP, 2006;

Another example of an infectious disease is feline leukemia which was caused by a retrovirus that enters cells and affects the immune system in cats. There are different variations of symptoms that can show that a feline is infected with FeLV: lymphosarcoma, affected blood cells resulting in nonregenerative anemia and immunosuppression which leaves the feline open to other bacterial infections. It is highly contagious amongst felines through personal contact such as grooming and can be passed from the mother to the offspring while in the womb but is not zoonotic. It also can be spread through blood and so blood being used for transfusions should be tested. Diagnostic testing would be to use a snap test using the cat’s blood. Additional blood tests are also available to test for FeLV. Once diagnosed, depending how affected the cat is, will determine the veterinarian’s course of treatment which is usually medications. Vaccines are used to help prevent the disease but isn’t 100% effective. Before getting the vaccine, the cat should be tested to see if it was vaccine-induced or actually the disease. This is because administration of a vaccine can give a false positive to

Symptoms include a wet form; fever, lack of appetite, weight loss, diarrhea, distended abdomen, difficulty breathing and sneezing, dry form; poor growth in kittens, anemia, diarrhea, jaundice, fever, and depression.

Cats often show different symptoms that similar to other diseases. Cats that have initially been exposed to FIP don’t show symptoms (Cornell). Some cats may either show mild upper respiratory symptoms such as sneezing, watery eyes, and nasal discharge (Cornell). Others may show intestinal symptoms like diarrhea (Cornell). Ultimately, only a small percentage of cats exposed to the feline coronavirus develop FIP, and even then it may take weeks, months, or even years until symptoms are shown (Cornell). Since there are two different types of feline infectious peritonitis, different symptoms will be shown on the basis of whether or not the cat has wet or dry FIP. Cats that have non-effusive FIP often show signs more slowly than those with effusive. These symptoms will include weight loss, fever that does not respond to antibiotics, depressions, and anemia (Cornell). One of the characteristics of effusive FIP is the accumulation of fluid, normally in the abdomen and sometimes in the chest. This large amount of fluid may cause the cat to become pot-bellied. Other symptoms include weight loss, fever, loss of appetite, and lethargy

Myxomatosis, the disease caused by the Myxoma virus, occurs naturally in South American cottontail rabbits.

The disease that is caused by T. gondii is formally known as Toxoplasmosis. It has the ability to affect any warm-blooded vertebrate animal, but it’s relatively common in humans. It is one of the most common diseases seen in developed countries, affecting about 200,000 humans per year. The disease can be contracted by humans through eating meat infected with tissue cysts or exposure to the litter of infected cats. Women who are pregnant are often advised to refrain from changing the litter of their house cats, because infection of a mother can possibly lead to a condition known as congenital toxoplasmosis within the unborn child. The weakened and undeveloped state of the fetus’ immune system poses a serious health risk, assuming the fetus survives the rest of its term in-utero.

As it was said before this bacterium usually infects rodents and not humans and that is why this kind of infectious fever is classified as an enzootic disease, which means that it tends to affect a determined specie and in this case it tends to spread among rodents via infected fleas.

Feline Leukemia virus, or FeLV for short, is a highly contagious and potentially fatal retroviral infection that weakens a cat’s immune system, because of how the virus interacts with infected cells once it is introduced to the hosts blood stream. A retrovirus is a virus composed of RNA instead of DNA, that contains an enzyme called reverse transcriptase, which is what gives them the unique property of transcribing their RNA into the DNA after it enters a cell. The infected DNA can then be integrated into the chromosomal DNA of the host cell and be expressed throughout the entire body. It can cause various blood disorders, and may lead to severe immune deficiency that can hinder the cat's ability to protect itself against other infections.

“Hemoptysis is the coughing of blood from a source below the glottis. It ranges from a small amount of blood-streaked sputum to a massive bleeding with life-threatening consequences due to airway obstruction and hemodynamic instability. Hemoptysis can be a sign of a serious medical condition. Most of the time it requires medical evaluation unless the hemoptysis is due to bronchitis. There are many reasons for coughing up blood they include lung cancer, pneumonia, pulmonary embolism, congestive heart failure, tuberculosis, trauma such as a gunshot wound or motor vehicle accident. Hemoptysis can also come from bleeding outside the lungs and airways. Hemoptysis test includes history and physical examination. The physician gathers clues that help

and muscle turns dark brown to black in color (Merck Vet Manual, n.d). Both of these diseases

A second paper, Toxoplasma Co-opts Host Cells It Does Not Invade by Anita A. Koshy,

The usual treatment for this infection is with antibiotics. According to research penicillin and amoxicillin are the first line for treatment. If a patient is allergic to penicillin the Physician may order doxycline, minocycline, azithromycin. Pt are normally treated with antibiotics for one to two weeks depending on deep tissue infection. In this case I feel this lady will need to be admitted for intravenous antibiotic for a few days. Regarding the abscess as I have seen being working in the hospital setting a physician will make an incision and drain the abscess. Other clinical symptoms not mentioned in the case that can occur from this organism include decreased range of motion, hoarseness, neurological deficits, abdominal tenderness, vision problems, cardiovascular problems including hypotension and tachycardia. Preventing cat bites is a way to avoid being infected with this organism. This include learning about a cat’s body language and recognizing the signs of petting-induced aggression. These include dilating pupils, a low growl, stiffening of the body, twitching of the tail and flattening the ears backward against the head. Maintain good oral hygiene of cats, consult a vet and promptly treat infections of your cat can and respiratory tract and so

The etiology is unknown, however viral disorder is believed to be involved due to presence of a prodrome in some cases and the appearance of small case clusters.