Prevalence and Pathology of Feline Panleukopenia in Domestic Cats

Prevalence and pathology of feline panleukopenia was conducted in cats of Mumbai region from January 2020 to January 2021 and prevalence was found to be 70% (35/50).Age wise study revealed higher incidence of FPL in the age group of 0-6 months (56%), followed by 6-12 months (8%) and lowest in one year and above group (6%).Non-descript cats/kittens (85.72%) were found to be affected at a higher percentage than pure breed (Persian) cats (14.28%).The higher percentage of female cats (65.71%) were affected by FPL than males (34.29%) cats.Necropsy examination of cat died due to FPL showed catarrhal exudation with hyperaemia, haemorrhages in stomach and intestinal mucosa, enlarged mesenteric lymph nodes and slightly pale bone marrow.Lung and liver were congested.Microscopically, section of small intestine showed coagulative necrosis, dilatation of crypt containing mucus and necrotic debris and denudation of villi and proliferative changes in submucosa.Infiltration of inflammatory cells like polymorphs, lymphocytes and basophilic intranuclear inclusions in intestine and stomach as well as bacterial colonies in stomach were observed.Lymph nodes and spleen showed lymphoid cell depletion whereas lung showed acute interstitial pneumonia.For diagnosis of FPL, SNAP test could able to detect 58% (29/50) of sample while PCR detected 70% (35/50) and PCR appeared to be more sensitive than SNAP test.