Dechra Lubrithal Eye Gel - 10g

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Immunocompromised cats should only be vaccinated when it is deemed absolutely necessary, and then an inactivated vaccine should be used. Zoonotic risk

Chlamydia infection in cats can be treated very effectively with antibiotics. Systemic antibiotics are more effective than local topical treatment (Sparkes et al., 1999). Tetracyclines are generally regarded as the antibiotics of choice for chlamydial infections (Dean et al., 2005). Doxycycline has the advantage of requiring only a single daily dose and is most frequently used at a daily dosage of 10 mg/kg orally, although 5 mg/kg orally twice daily can be used if vomiting occurs with single day dosing. Administration of the hyclate preparation of doxycycline should always be followed by food or water because of the possibility of it inducing oesophagitis in cats with incomplete swallowing. Studies have shown that treatment must be maintained for 4 weeks to ensure elimination of the organism (Dean et al., 2005). In some cats, recrudescence may be noted some time after discontinuation of therapy. Continuation of treatment for two weeks after resolution of clinical signs is recommended. Tetracyclines have potential side effects in young cats although these appear to be less common with doxycycline than oxytetracycline. Alternative antibiotics may be considered if this is a concern. Both enrofloxacin and pradofloxacin have shown some efficacy against Chlamydia spp. (Gerhardt et al., 2006; Hartmann et al., 2008), although pradofloxacin would be preferred over enrofloxacin in view of the diffuse retinal degeneration and acute blindness that has been reported following enrofloxacin treatment in cats, albeit very rarely. A 4-week course of therapy with clavulanic acid potentiated amoxicillin may represent the safest choice of alternative to doxycycline in young kittens (Sturgess et al., 2001). Vaccination Lipman NS, Yan LL, Murphy JC (1994): Probable transmission of Chlamydia psittaci from a macaw to a cat. J Am Vet Med Assoc 204(9), 1479-1480.Fig. 4. Indirect immunofluorescence test to titrate antibody directed against Chlamydia felis; infected cell culture serves as the antigen substrate. Courtesy of The Feline Centre, Langford Vets, University of Bristol, UK Treatment

In most cats, conjunctival shedding ceases at around 60 days after infection, although some may continue to become persistently infected (O’Dair et al., 1994). C. felis has been isolated from the conjunctiva of untreated cats for up to 215 days after experimental infection (Wills, 1986). Immunity Passive immunity Please note that parcels weighing over 2kg may be sent via courier due to Royal Mail weight restrictions. Vaccination of kittens generally begins at 8-9 weeks of age with a second injection 3-4 weeks later at around 12 weeks of age. Limited information is available about the duration of immunity. There is some evidence that previously infected cats can become vulnerable to re-infection after a year or more. Annual boosters are recommended for cats that are at continued risk of exposure to infection. Disease control in specific situations Shelters Lubrithal Eye Gel is sterile, and contains cetrimide & disodium EDTA as the preservative/stabilizer. In catteries with endemic Chlamydia infection, the first step is generally treatment of all cats in the household with doxycycline for at least 4 weeks to attempt to eliminate the infection. In some cattery cats a minimum of 6 to 8 weeks of treatment has been shown to be necessary to eliminate natural infection. Once clinical signs have been controlled, cats should be vaccinated to provide protection against disease should re-infection of the cattery occur. Immunocompromised catsHalanova M, Petrova L, Halan M, Trbolova A, Babinska I, Weissova T (2019): Impact of way of life and environment on the prevalence of Chlamydia felis in cats as potentional sources of infection for humans. Ann Agric Environ Med 26(2), 222-226.

Segarra S, Papasouliotis K, Helps C (2011): The in vitro effects of proxymetacaine, fluorescein, and fusidic acid on real-time PCR assays used for the diagnosis of Feline herpesvirus 1 and Chlamydophila felis infections. Vet Ophthalmol 14 Suppl 15-8. Sparkes AH, Caney SM, Sturgess CP, Gruffydd-Jones TJ (1999): The clinical efficacy of topical and systemic therapy for the treatment of feline ocular chlamydiosis. J Feline Med Surg 1(1), 31-35. The genome of C. felis has been sequenced (Azuma et al., 2006). There is extensive nucleotide sequence homology between the genomes of various Chlamydia species. The membrane contains important families of proteins: the major outer membrane proteins (MOMPs) and polymorphic outer membrane proteins (POMPs). The organism attaches to sialic acid receptors of cells. It has a unique pattern of replication within cells, involving reticulate bodies and elementary bodies. The latter represent the infectious forms of the micro-organism that are released following cell lysis. Some C. felis isolates appear to contain plasmids, and this may be related to their pathogenic ability (Everson et al., 2003). Epidemiology Longbottom D, Livingstone M (2006): Vaccination against chlamydial infections of man and animals. Veterinary Journal 171(2), 263-275.The nature of the protective immune responses to Chlamydia infection is uncertain. However cellular immune responses are believed to play a crucial role in protection (Longbottom and Livingstone, 2006). The MOMPs and POMPs are important targets for protective immune responses in other species (Longbottom and Livingstone, 2006) and have been shown to exist in the cat (Harley et al., 2007). Clinical signs LONG LASTING – carbomer lubricating fluid helps retain moisture in the tear film for much longer than many eye drops Nakanishi H, Furuya M, Soma T, Hayashiuchi Y, Yoshiuchi R, Matsubayashi M, Tani H, Sasai K (2019): Prevalence of microorganisms associated with feline gingivostomatitis. J Feline Med Surg 21(2), 103-108.

Gunn-Moore DA, Werrett G, Harbour DA, Feilden H, Gruffydd-Jones TJ (1995): Prevalence of Chlamydia psittaci antibodies in healthy pet cats in Britain. Vet Rec 136(14), 366-367. Chlamydophila (Chlamydia) guidelines were first published in the J Feline Med Surg 2009; 11: 605-609 by Tim Gruffydd-Jones et al. The present guideline was updated by Séverine Tasker. SynopsisWons J, Meiller R, Bergua A, Bogdan C, Geissdorfer W (2017): Follicular Conjunctivitis due to Chlamydia felis-Case Report, Review of the Literature and Improved Molecular Diagnostics. Front Med (Lausanne) 4105. ABCD follows a recent nomenclature proposal to classify all 11 currently recognized Chlamydiaceae species in a single genus, the genus Chlamydia (Sachse et al., 2015); these species include Chlamydia felis, Chlamydia pneumoniae and Chlamydia psittaci. C. felis is the species typically seen infecting cats. Fig. 2. Purulent conjunctivitis and chemosis in a cat with Chlamydia felis infection. Courtesy of Eric Déan Diagnosis Direct detection methods Wills JM, Gruffydd-Jones TJ, Richmond SJ, Gaskell RM, Bourne FJ (1987): Effect of vaccination on feline Chlamydia psittaci infection. Infect Immun 55(11), 2653-2657.