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Aspergillosis in cats: ABCD guidelines on prevention and management
Katrin Hartmann1, Albert Lloret, Maria Grazia Pennisi
1European Advisory Board on Cat Diseases. Hartmann@medizinische-kleintierklinik.de
Overview:
Aspergillosis is a sporadic mycosis that occurs worldwide in mammals and birds and leads to a usually chronic, and only rarely acute, disease that mainly affects the nasal cavity and sinuses.
Infection:
Aspergillus species infections are commonly associated with predisposing local or systemic factors. Local disease can spread and involve the central nervous system or the lungs. Some Aspergillus species can also disseminate, causing systemic infections. In contrast to dogs, in which (nasal) aspergillosis is relatively common, aspergillosis is rare in cats, but considered an emerging infection.
Clinical Signs:
There are two clinical forms of aspergillosis in cats, the sinonasal form (characterised by signs of chronic nasal infection) and the newly emerging, more invasive sino-orbital form (characterised by signs of orbital and surrounding tissue invasion). Sino-orbital involvement has been described now in approximately half of the reported cases.
Disease Management:
Treatment should consist of local and systemic antifungal therapy.
Insights
Aspergillosis, a fungal infection, is an emerging disease in cats, presenting as sinonasal or sino-orbital forms. Early diagnosis and combined local/systemic antifungal treatment are crucial for managing this rare but invasive condition.
Area of Science:
- Veterinary Mycology
- Infectious Diseases in Animals
Background:
- Aspergillosis is a worldwide fungal infection affecting mammals and birds, typically causing chronic nasal and sinus disease.
- While common in dogs, aspergillosis is a rare but emerging infection in cats, often linked to predisposing factors.
- Infections can remain localized or spread to the central nervous system and lungs, with some species causing systemic disease.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the clinical presentation and management of aspergillosis in cats.
- To highlight the emerging sino-orbital form of feline aspergillosis.
Main Methods:
- Review of clinical cases of feline aspergillosis.
- Description of two distinct clinical forms: sinonasal and sino-orbital.
Main Results:
- Two clinical forms identified: chronic sinonasal and invasive sino-orbital.
- Sino-orbital involvement, characterized by orbital tissue invasion, is present in approximately 50% of reported feline cases.
Conclusions:
- Feline aspergillosis presents with sinonasal or sino-orbital manifestations.
- Treatment necessitates a combination of local and systemic antifungal therapies.
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