“Update your cat’s vaccinations.” In Reunion, the vets sound the alarm. An epidemic of feline typhus is currently raging on the island, where several cases of the disease have been detected in cats both in the north and south.
Many identified cases of this virus with a high mortality rate in cats. What are the symptoms of the disease? Is it common? And how can we protect cats from this virus? 20 minutes explains you.
A serious, potentially fatal virus
Feline typhus is a viral and infectious disease caused by a virus from the parvovirus family. It attacks cells in the bone marrow and intestinal wall and can cause severe digestive bleeding in animals. Although it mainly affects kittens, it also affects adult cats.
After an incubation period of approximately 4 days, the cat develops symptoms: Fever and loss of appetite affect the animal, which appears apathetic and dejected. Then the cat suffers from diarrhea and vomiting. Symptoms that quickly lead to dehydration of the animal, which must be treated early, as the disease is often fatal for cats.
A highly contagious disease
Typhus in cats, known as “FPV virus (Feline Panleukopenia Virus), or feline panleukopenia, is a fatal viral disease, very widespread in France”, as we remember aturgences-veterinaires.fr. During the summer of 2023, an epidemic of feline typhus raged in Angoulême (Charente), killing dozens of felines in a few weeks. If the virus affects kittens more severely, with a mortality rate of 80% in unvaccinated animals under 6 months of age, it reaches 40% in unvaccinated adult cats.
However, typhus in cats is a highly contagious disease because the FPV virus is very resistant in the external environment, remind the veterinarians of the assistance network. Once excreted by the sick cat, the pathogen remains in the environment and promotes contamination of other felines.” In practice, the virus is transmitted via the fecal-oral route: the cat licks the virus found in the excrement of a sick animal.
Indirect transmission
“Most often, the transmission between cats is indirect, following the persistence of the virus in the environment and lack of hygiene,” they emphasize. Only cohabitation in the same litter can explain direct faecal-oral contamination.” Therefore, “if your cat is affected by typhus, you must take strict hygiene measures to prevent the spread of the virus,” they insist. If you have other cats in your family, so don’t hesitate to isolate the sick cat while it recovers.
The sick cat can release the virus several weeks after clinical recovery. In addition, “this virus is extremely resistant in the external environment, up to 1 year, and any medium can potentially spread the virus: via our shoes for example (but also clothes, transport boxes, bowls)”, we insist at Alizé’s veterinary office, located in the southern half of the island.
So to remove the virus when you have a sick cat, and since “the virus is very resistant to cleaning agents,” vets recommend disinfecting your home with “bleach diluted between 0.2 and 0.5%.” Do not hesitate to clean all floors and objects thoroughly.” On the other hand, feline typhus cannot be transmitted to humans.
Vaccination is highly recommended
The only way to protect cats from disease: vaccination. That is why, on Reunion Island, vets are urging cat owners to get them vaccinated against this disease, for which there is no treatment. It must be carried out “from the age of 8 weeks and administered in two injections one month apart, with an initial annual booster, then every 1 to 3 years depending on lifestyle and location”, explains the Clinique Vétérinaire de la Montagne-Luna Park , located in the northern part of the island, which launched a call for vaccination on Facebook.
“In a very high-risk area, as Reunion Island has just become, the primary vaccination must be earlier,” emphasize the clinic’s veterinarians, who specify the vaccination schedule for cats. It includes “a third injection around 4-5 months of age, then a booster every year”.
