Department of Infectious Disease, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
Vet Pathol. 2013 Jan;50(1):39-45. doi: 10.1177/0300985812452578. Epub 2012 Jun 25.
Domestic cats are susceptible to infection with highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1, resulting in pneumonia and in some cases, systemic spread with lesions in multiple organ systems. Recent transmission of the 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza virus from humans to cats also resulted in severe pneumonia in cats. Data regarding the susceptibility of cats to other influenza viruses is minimal, especially regarding susceptibility to low pathogenic avian influenza viruses from wild birds, the reservoir host. In this study, the authors infected 5-month-old cats using 2 different North American shorebird avian influenza viruses (H1N9 and H6N4 subtypes), 3 cats per virus, with the goal of expanding the understanding of avian influenza virus infections in this species. These viruses replicated in inoculated cats based on virus isolation from the pharynx in 2 cats, virus isolation from the lung of 1 cat, and antigen presence in the lung via immunohistochemistry in 2 cats. There was also seroconversion and lesions of patchy bronchointerstitial pneumonia in all of the cats. Infection in the cats did not result in clinical disease and led to variable pharyngeal viral shedding with only 1 of the viruses; virus was localized in the alveolar epithelium via immunohistochemistry. These findings demonstrate the capacity of wild bird influenza viruses to infect cats, and further investigation is warranted into the pathogenesis of these viruses in cats from both a veterinary medical and public health perspective.
家猫易感染高致病性禽流感病毒 H5N1，导致肺炎，在某些情况下，病毒会在全身多个器官系统中扩散并造成损伤。最近，人类传播的 2009 年大流行性 H1N1 流感病毒也导致猫患上严重的肺炎。关于猫对其他流感病毒的易感性的数据很少，特别是关于对来自野生鸟类这一宿主的低致病性禽流感病毒的易感性。在这项研究中，作者使用两种不同的北美涉禽流感病毒（H1N9 和 H6N4 亚型）感染了 5 月龄的猫，每只病毒感染 3 只猫，目的是扩大对该物种流感病毒感染的认识。根据 2 只猫的咽部分离病毒、1 只猫的肺部分离病毒以及 2 只猫的肺组织免疫组化检测到抗原，这两种病毒在接种猫体内复制。所有猫均发生血清学转换和局灶性支气管间质性肺炎病变。猫感染未导致临床疾病，仅 1 种病毒导致了可变的咽部病毒脱落；病毒通过免疫组化定位在肺泡上皮细胞中。这些发现表明，野生鸟类流感病毒能够感染猫，从兽医医学和公共卫生的角度来看，进一步研究这些病毒在猫中的发病机制是有必要的。
