Herpesvirus and sore eyes

Two cats with sore eyes came to visit this morning. Meeka is a bouncy 8 week old Burmese. Jafar is a more sedate, but no less fun-loving, 7 year old Himalayan.

Meeka came from a breeder last weekend and has just developed a bit of a crusty discharge in the corner of both eyes. When I had a close look his eyes were a bit red and more watery than normal.

Jafar has episodes of red weepy eyes every few months. He is a bit of a stress-head and the episodes seem to correspond with changes in the household like a new house, visitors or an intruder cat in the yard.

They are both showing signs of feline herpesvirus infection. Meeka’s infection may progress to a runny nose and sinusitis or she may throw it off and never have another episode. If she goes off her food or is lethargic we will prescribe antibiotics for secondary infections.

Herpesvirus in Jafar hides in a nerve ganglion and just comes out when he is stressed. The conjunctivitis is a bit painful so we recommend artificial tears to keep the eye well lubricated. He is also taking an antiviral drug to try and reduce the viral load and conjunctivitis.

The other cat in Jafar’s household must have developed an immunity to the virus as she has never shown signs even when Jafar is shedding virus everywhere.

We keep a close watch on Jafar’s eye because herpesvirus can cause ulceration of the cornea, the window of the eye, and occasionally loss of the eye.

Herpesvirus for cats

Yes - cats have their own herpesvirus, just as irritating as the human variety, and liable to flare up with stress just like it does in human sufferers. However cat herpesvirus mostly affects the eyes and respiratory system.
The great majority of cats suffer their first bout with herpesvirus when they are kittens. They get watery eyes, sneeze, snuffle, go off their food for a day or two and look very sad and fluey. Antibiotics to prevent secondary infections and good nursing pull nearly all of them through.
Although most infected cats then become carriers very few have any further trouble with the virus themselves.
A few poor cats go on to develop flu-like signs or various eye diseases whenever they are stressed.
Some just get watery eyes. Painful ulcers on the cornea, the window of the eye, and on the conjunctiva, make other cats very miserable. Occasionally a part of the cornea dies and turns black, or the eye perforates.
Any eye problem is an emergency. If your cat has watery or pussy eyes, is squeezing his eyelids closed, or the eye looks blue, red or black bring him straight in to the surgery.

New vaccination guidelines

New Australian vaccination guidelines recommend that adult cats have core vaccination boosters every 3 years once they have had their first booster at 15 months of age. The core vaccine protects against feline parvovirus (also known as enteritis), feline herpesvirus and feline calicivirus (also known as cat flu).

At the annual examination we review the health and vaccination status of each individual cat. Many factors influence the effectiveness of vaccination and the need for re-vaccination. These include the cat’s age, breed, vaccination history and health status, the disease prevalence in the local area, the likely exposure of the animal to other animals, including stray or feral animals, current best practice, contemporary guidelines and published veterinary literature.
The vaccination program for each individual cat is determined within a veterinarian-client-patient relationship, taking all these factors into account.
The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (AVPMA) and the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) advocate three yearly vaccination of cats.
The APVMA is the Australian government statutory authority responsible for the registration of all agricultural and veterinary chemical products in the Australian marketplace. The APVMA is working with vaccine manufacturers to update label recommendations.
The AVPMA’s position statement on cat and dog vaccinations can be found on its website:
AVPMA

The AVA’s policy on vaccination protocols is found on:
AVA