Not a piece of good news for cat lovers. The country has confirmed the outbreak of feline panleukopenia, a potentially fatal disease among cats. However, the disease will not spread to humans or other species. The first case of the disease was diagnosed at the National Veterinary Hospital (NVH) in Thimphu in February. The veterinary hospital alone reported 27 cases of cats infected with the virus in March of this year. The disease is suspected to have become prominent across the country. Although there are no actual records.
The National Veterinary Hospital in Thimphu receives a minimum of three to four cats infected with the disease every day. Veterinary doctors say the disease is contagious among feline species.
Discharges from the nose, mouth, excretion, and vomit are the common symptoms of the disease. The main virus carrier is said to be fleas.
“If a client brings the infected cat to the veterinarian in its initial stage, 80 per cent of them will respond to the treatment. But people are busy, and they bring the cats for consultation only at the last stage, so most of them die,” said Nima Wangdi, the Senior Veterinary Doctor.
Cat owners say that their cats get infected with the virus when they roam out of the house.
“He is on medication, but I do not see any improvement. He is still vomiting and not eating or drinking. Today is the third day here, and it seems like he is dehydrated. Yesterday he was okay, but today the doctor said he is dehydrated, so we have him on IV,” said Kezang Tshomo, a cat owner.
According to the senior veterinary doctor, the only way to prevent the disease from spreading is by isolating sick cats. The doctor added that there can be many cats that are not reported to the veterinary hospital.
Namgay Dema & Ngawang Tenzin
Edited by Sherub Dorji
