IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL DETECTION OF FELINE VIRAL RHINOTRACHEITIS IN A CAT

Abstract

A female, 10-month old, mixed breed cat showed clinical signs of severe dehydration, purulent nasal discharge, dyspnea, severe crepitating lung sounds and no response to antibiotic treatment. Upon necropsy, histopathology revealed severe, diffuse, fibrinopurulent pleuropneumonia and numerous, homogeneous, amphophilic, intranuclear inclusion bodies in the pulmonary alveolar macrophages, bronchial and alveolar epithelium and bronchial glandular epitheliums. Immunohistochemical studies using 3 different monoclonal, anti-Feline Herpesvirus type 1 antibodies, revealed immunoreactivity of viral antigen in the lung that was associated with the histopathological changes. Monoclonal, anti-glycoprotein B, antibody showed the strongest immunoreactivity.