Feline Rabies

Rabies lyssavirus (RABV) is the main lyssavirus involved in rabies, a 100% lethal zoonotic acute encephalitis. Cats, like other mammals, are susceptible to the disease, and this is an emerging concern regarding feline health and Public Health as rabid cats might transmit the disease to humans. Transmission to cats occurs from other cats or canids, but bats are of growing concern as reservoirs to feline rabies. Upon infection, RABV spreads via axons to the central nervous system (CNS) and leads to either the paralytic or the furious form of the disease, depending on the immune response and the virus strain. A definitive diagnosis is based on immunofluorescence and virus isolation in cell cultures or mice using post-mortem samples of CNS; PCR is of value in cases of poorly conserved samples and DNA sequencing is of uttermost importance for the molecular epidemiology of rabies. Vaccination using an inactivated virus is the core preventive measure regarding cats.