DEVELOPMENT OF A CASE DEFINITION FOR CLINICAL FELINE HERPESVIRUS INFECTION IN CHEETAHS (ACINONYX JUBATUS) HOUSED IN ZOOS

Abstract

The identification of feline herpesvirus (FHV) infected cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) and characterization of shedding episodes is difficult due to nonspecific clinical signs and limitations of diagnostic tests. The goals of this study were to develop a case definition for clinical FHV and describe the distribution of signs. Medical records from six different zoologic institutions were reviewed to identify cheetahs with diagnostic test results confirming FHV. Published literature, expert opinion, and results of a multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) were used to develop a clinical case definition based on 69 episodes in FHV laboratory confirmed (LC) cheetahs. Four groups of signs were identified in the MCA: general ocular signs, serious ocular lesions, respiratory disease, and cutaneous lesions. Ocular disease occurred with respiratory signs alone, with skin lesions alone, and with both respiratory signs and skin lesions. Groups that did not occur together were respiratory signs and skin lesions. The resulting case definition included 1) LC cheetahs; and 2) clinically compatible (CC) cheetahs that exhibited a minimum of 7 day's duration of the clinical sign groupings identified in the MCA or the presence of corneal ulcers or keratitis that occurred alone or in concert with other ocular signs and skin lesions. Exclusion criteria were applied. Application of the case definition to the study population identified an additional 78 clinical episodes, which represented 58 CC cheetahs. In total, 28.8% (93/322) of the population was identified as LC or CC. The distribution of identified clinical signs was similar across LC and CC cheetahs. Corneal ulcers and/or keratitis, and skin lesions were more frequently reported in severe episodes; in mild episodes, there were significantly more cheetahs with ocular-only or respiratory-only disease. Our results provide a better understanding of the clinical presentation of FHV, while presenting a standardized case definition that can both contribute to earlier diagnoses and be used for population-level studies.

Diseases Impacting Captive and Free-Ranging Cheetahs

“…Captive cheetahs are commonly infected with feline herpesvirus and can develop mild sneezing, nasal discharge, and ocular lesions similar to other felids (van vuuren et al, 1999). In some cases, severe corneal ulcers and/or keratitis and proliferative skin lesions on the face and/ or forelimbs are noted (Flacke et al, 2015;Junge et al, 1991;Munson et al, 2004a,b;Witte et al, 2013) (Fig. 25.2).…”

“…Diagnosis of FHv-1 infection relies on characteristic clinical signs and/or specific diagnostic tests, such as virus isolation, PCR, histopathology with characteristic herpesviral inclusions, or immunohistochemistry (Witte et al, 2013). serology alone cannot be used to confirm infection (Witte et al, 2013). Biopsy is essential to differentiate proliferative skin lesions from neoplasms (tumors).…”

Felidae

“…More severe upper respiratory tract disease with corneal ulcers and/or keratitis have been noted in both Pallas' cats and cheetahs. Cheetahs have also been diagnosed with unusual skin lesions due to feline herpesvirus 1 (FHV-1) (Scherba et al, 1988;Junge et al, 1991;Munson et al, 2004b;Witte et al, 2013). Skin lesions have not been noted in wild cheetahs despite evidence of seropositivity (Munson et al, 2004a;Munson et al, 2005;Thalwitzer et al, 2010) but have been documented in wild-caught captive-held cats (Flacke et al, 2015).…”

Deep learning facilitates rapid classification of human and veterinary clinical narratives

“…The fact that the vast majority of veterinary clinical data is stored as free-text fields with very low rates of formal data curation exacerbates the problem. Further increasing variance in the data, veterinary patients necessarily come from many different environments, including hospitals [7], practices [8], zoos [9], wildlife reserves [10], army facilities [11], research facilities [12], breeders, dealers, exhibitors [13], livestock farms, and ranches [14]. With the development of new wearable and sensory technology for animals [15], the amount of animal health data will continue to grow exponentially.…”