Cat Aspergillosis

What is cat Aspergillosis?

Aspergillosis is a fungal infection that develops in the nose and sinuses of cats and dogs. In some areas of the country these infections can be fairly common. Infections with this fungus show very characteristic symptoms including nasal discharge. Aspergillosis can be difficult to diagnose and treat.

Aspergillus is a very common fungus that is found throughout the environment. Most animals and people will come into contact with this fungus at some point in their lives, however, most animals do not develop infections. Most infections occur in animals that have a poor or deficient immune system, a prior sinus infection, or in animals that have been on prolonged antibiotic therapy. In addition, animals that are undergoing chemotherapy or have a pre-existing disease such as diabetes mellitus are more prone to developing aspergillosis. However, Aspergillus can infect healthy animals with a normal immune system as well. Cats are much less likely to develop this disease than dogs.

There are two forms of treatment, topical and systemic. For systemic treatment, oral antifungal drugs such as itraconazole or fluconazole are usually used. The cure rate with these products is at best 70%. An alternative approach is periodic infusions of the topical antifungal drug enilconazole through surgically implanted tubes. The success rate for this treatment is reported to be as high as 90%. This treatment can be labor intensive, messy, and not well tolerated by the animal. A newer approach to the topical treatment has been studied in dogs. The dog is anesthetized, and the topical antifungal agent clotrimazole (Lotrimin) is infused under pressure into the sinus cavities. One study showed a 94% success rate in dogs with this one time treatment. The intranasal infusion with clotrimazole may soon become the treatment of choice for this disease, and may come to be used in cats as well.

Regardless of the treatment method, the most important factors in successfully treating this disease are early recognition and treatment.

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