Can feline herpesvirus be carried for life?

Feline herpes virus is carried for life.

Feline herpes virus is a large virus with a diameter of about 100~130nm, which mainly infects cats. After infection, the virus will lie dormant in the cat’s nervous tissue. Even if the clinical symptoms disappear, the virus will not be completely eliminated, but will remain dormant in the cat’s trigeminal ganglion for life. When cats’ immunity is weakened or they are stressed, the virus may be activated, causing clinical signs to reappear. Therefore, although the cat may be symptom-free with treatment, the virus is still present and may return at any time.

Feline herpes virus is mainly spread through nasal contact or sneezing, and its symptoms include loss of appetite, lethargy, fever, nasal discharge, sneezing, constipation, coughing and excessive salivation. The treatment of feline herpes virus infection mainly adopts symptomatic treatment and immune support treatment, including oral antiviral drugs, use of interferon, eye drops and other measures. However, due to the special nature of feline herpes virus, once infected, cats will carry the virus for life.

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