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Outbreak of dysautonomia (Key‐Gaskell syndrome) in a closed colony of pet cats
Author(s) -
Cave T. A.,
Knottenbelt C.,
Mellor D. J.,
Nunn F.,
Nart P.,
Reid S. W. J.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
veterinary record
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.261
H-Index - 99
eISSN - 2042-7670
pISSN - 0042-4900
DOI - 10.1136/vr.153.13.387
Subject(s) - dysautonomia , cats , subclinical infection , medicine , outbreak , neutrophilia , pathology , disease
Six of eight pet cats in a closed colony developed overt signs of dysautonomia over a period of seven days; two of them died and one was euthanased. Dysautonomia was confirmed histopathologically in two of these cats, and in the others the diagnosis was based on the characteristic clinical and radiographic findings. In the two apparently unaffected cats abnormal oesophageal motility was demonstrated by fluoroscopy, suggesting that there may be a subclinical form of the disease. The surviving cats had higher and more variable heart rates (mean 165 bpm) than the non‐survivors (mean 121 bpm).