This document provides information on containing highly contagious diseases like panleukopenia and calicivirus in shelters. It discusses detection of the diseases through symptoms, determining what it is, and looking for unusual suspects. Isolation procedures are outlined, including how the diseases spread, how to kill them, and treatment options. Quarantine periods and procedures for reintroducing affected animals are also addressed. Specific information is provided on panleukopenia symptoms, testing challenges, vaccination for prevention, and handling an outbreak without euthanasia through isolation, treatment, and preventing further spread.

1. Medical Treatment on a Shoestring Budget
CONTAINING HIGHLY
CONTAGIOUS DISEASES
LIKE PANLEUKOPENIA
AND CALICIVIRUS
Ellen Jefferson, DVM
Executive Director
Kristen Kjellberg, DVM
Veterinarian

2.  Basics
 Calicivirus
 Panleukopenia
CONTAINING CONTAGION

3.  Detection
 What to look for
 What is it?
 What does it look like?
 Isolation
 How is it spread?
 What kills it?
 How do I treat it?
 Re-introduction
BASICS

4.  What to look for
 Groups of animals with the same symptoms
 The usual suspects
 parvo, distemper, panleukopenia, ringworm
 Things you are always on the lookout for
 The unusual suspects
 Canine influenza, virulent strain calicivirus, etc.
 Can be harder to detect
 What is it?
 Virus?
 Bacteria?
 Fungus?
DETECTION

5.  How is it spread?
 Aerosol
 Saliva
 Fecal matter
 Fomites
 What kills it?
 How do I treat it?
 Location?
ISOLATION

6.  What is the quarantine period?
 When is it safe for affected animals to be re-introduced to the
general public?
RE-INTRODUCTION

7.  All of a sudden, we had several adult cats in cattery not
eating and with fevers
 They all had ulcers…
THE HUNGER STRIKE KITTIES

8.  What is it?
 Similar to feline herpes virus,
but hardier in the environment
 Usually causes relatively benign
URI in kittens
 Can mutate to different strains
like the flu
 What does it look like?
 Typical calici: fever, mouth
ulcers, URI
 Virulent calici: vaccinated adults
severely affected, skin lesions,
limping
VIRULENT CALICIVIRUS

9.  How is it spread?
 Nasal
 Oral
 Conjunctival
 **Fomites
 What kills it?
 Lasts days to weeks or more dried on surfaces, longer in cold wet
conditions
 First, remove organic debris
 Then bleach:water 1:30
ISOLATION

10.  Who goes?
 Affected
 Exposed (ideally separately)
 Scrub in/out procedure
 Designated staff
 Scrubs
 Footbath/foot covers
 Keep pens, litterboxes, spray bottles within
the ward
 Wash hands between patients!
 We eventually considered all exposed
 Closed cattery
 Utilized offsite and foster homes
ISOLATION

11.  Antibiotics
 Doxycycline
 Amoxicillin
 Pain
 Sucralfate
 +/- buprenex
 Fever: dipyrone
 Nutrition
TREATMENT

12.  What is the quarantine
period?
 Sometimes there isn’t enough
research to know
 Make an educated guess
 When is it safe for affected
animals to be re-introduced
to the general public?
 Couldn’t afford to test them
all like parvo or panleuk
 Have a plan for if you make
the wrong decision
 Educate adopters
RE-INTRODUCTION
Voodoo and Venus, post-calici!

13. RE-INTRODUCTION

14.  Everyone will panic
 Make a plan, assess, then
continue to change it
 Find the silver linings
 Survival rate
 Knowing that it can’t go on
forever
 You’ll be amazed at what you
can do when killing isn’t an
option
WHAT WE LEARNED

15.  “Feline Distemper”
 Actually a parvovirus
 Acts similar to Canine
parvovirus- infects small
intestine
 Spreads easily in animal
shelters
 Causes vomiting and/or
diarrhea and/or anorexia
 Generally runs its course
in 3-7 days
 Lives in environment for
6-12 months
PANLEUKOPENIA- WHAT IS IT?

16. Very hard to identify
because not cut and
dry like in dogs
Usually
vomit/diarrhea
Testing is inconclusive
 False positive tests
occur within 10 days of
vaccination
 False negatives can
occur if early in the
disease
WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?

17. 1. The Community.
1. Most kittens live
outside
2. Ubiquitous virus
3. Least likely continual
source of outbreak
1. But probably first
source
5 PLACES OUR KITTENS COULD HAVE GOTTEN
PANLEUKOPENIA

18. City Facility
On intake kittens
are:
weighed,
held
photographed
Entered into
computers
sometimes
fed/treated before
pick up.
2/5 PLACES

19.  APA! Medical Clinic.
 All incoming kittens
are:
 tested and held
 given wellness
 handled by the technicians
 treated on the exam table
 Medicine bottles
 the technicians'
clothes/hair,
 the cabinet knobs,
 often overlooked areas to
sanitize appropriately
3/5

20.  APA! Nursery is especially
vulnerable to disease spread
due to:
 the proximity of kittens,
 the invasive handling to feed and
care
 huge number of different people
involved,
 the cross use of medicine bottles
for dispensing,
 the time kittens spend there, and
the use of small gauge (and thus
difficult to sanitize) enclosures.
 Remember: all of these
kittens would have been dead
if they did not go to the
Nursery
 Weigh risk vs. benefit
4/5

21. Foster homes.
 risk is smaller
 Smaller population
 Less stress
5/5

22. Believable Positive:
unvaccinated or not-
recently-vaccinated cat
signs of illness
Exposed within
previous 5 days
Not longer
WHEN CAN YOU TRUST A TEST?

23.  A reliably positive-tested
cat can have no vomiting,
no diarrhea, and even be
eating.
 Or she can be very sick with
copious diarrhea and vomiting.
 A negative-tested can have
copious diarrhea and
vomiting and be
unresponsive to antibiotics
(kills secondary bacteria,
not virus) with what we
assume to be
Panleukopenia.
 Test every 12 hours x 2 more
tests
INCONCLUSIVE SIGNS

24. Vaccines
 FVRCP vaccine is
extremely effective for
prevention
 If given to kittens younger
than 4 weeks of age, it
will give it to them
 Must be given as soon as
4 weeks of age if in an
outbreak = 1 lb
 Repeat every 2 weeks
while in shelter
PREVENTION

25. Test as soon as you see signs that are not
normal for diet changes
 but only when appropriate
Keep sick kittens isolated from healthy kittens
All In and All Out Areas: Keep smaller all
inclusive areas for each group of “naïve” cats
Remove positive cats and exposed cats asap
Develop alert system to identify kittens who
lose weight or are not gaining
PREVENTION (CONTD)

26. ALL IN AND ALL OUT MODEL

27. 1. Test and kill
symptomatic cats
2. Kill all cats in
same room in case
of exposure
 Empty cages and
clean
3. Resume normal
operations
TRADITIONAL METHOD OF HANDLING AN
OUTBREAK

28. The same way but no
killing
1. Identify the problem
2. Isolate and treat the
problem
3. Don’t add to the
problem
Yes, it is harder.
NO KILL WAY TO HANDLE OUTBREAK

29.  Test:
 Figure out who has it
 Who has been exposed in last 5 days
to everyone who tested positive?
 Questions:
 Where was the positive cat housed
when symptoms began?
 Which people were handling it?
 What supplies from those places are
shared with other cat spaces?
 Were there any other cats in same
area that are no longer there when
cat first showed symptoms?
 Watch these closely and limit handling
 Where are they now?
 Who, of those that might have been
exposed, is symptomatic even a
little?
 Test those and start questions all over.
STEP 1: IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM

30. Create a “parvo ward” just
like in dogs
 No unauthorized
access/locked
 All directly exposed
(sharing same cage) and
positive cats go to ward
immediately
 Deep clean after removal of
animal
 Dedicated supplies,
clothing, and team
 Keep until tests negative
 Discharge with bath back to
adoption/foster
ISOLATE AND TREAT THE PROBLEM

31. X 3 days or until all symptoms
are gone
Subcutaneousy:
 Baytril sq once a day in fluids
 Ampicillin/polyflex or
Cefazolin two-three times per
day
 Cerenia once or twice a day
 Force feeding! Every 4 hours
until eating
 SQ Fluids: Iv fluids are very
hard to give to tiny kittens
 we found we could save them with
constant feeding and sq
fluids/meds
APA TREATMENT

32. Create a Quarantine Area
(can be current exposed
area)
 Clean everything
 Dedicated staff
 Put all susceptible cats
that were exposed to
same people and stuff
here for 5 days
 No public access
 If no symptoms after 5
days, ok to move out to
adoption
 Consider bath
ISOLATE AND WATCH THE PROBLEM

33. All incoming cats
and kittens go to
CLEAN place with
new supplies and
dedicated staff
No cross over with
quarantine area
DON’T ADD TO THE PROBLEM

34. The virus is just like
Canine
 removal of all organic
debris (feces, vomit)
 Cleaning with detergent
 disinfection with a
parvocidal cleaner (used
appropriately)
 Extreme temperatures
(steam) and roccal will
not kill the virus
Throw everything you
can away
CLEANING UP

35. Who to test- is it just
diet change?
When to isolate
negative-tested
kittens?
 All neonatal kittens get
diarrhea due to diet
change, and the
difference between that
and Panleukopenia can
be difficult to determine
CHALLENGES

36. QUESTIONS?