title: [Feline panleukopenia - different course of disease in cats younger than versus older than 6 months of age?].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to evaluate differences between young cats (< 6 months) and adult cats (≥ 6 months) with feline panleukopenia with respect to clinical signs, laboratory abnormalities, environmental conditions, vaccination status, and outcome.
  
  
  METHODS
  Medical records of 244 cats diagnosed with panleukopenia between 1990 and 2007 at the Clinic of Small Animal Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, Germany, were evaluated retrospectively. Cats that tested positive for feline panleukopenia virus (FPV) via electron microscopy, polymerase chain reaction (blood, faeces), antigen ELISA (faeces), or that had histopathological lesions consistent with panleukopenia at necropsy were included. Cats were excluded if they had been vaccinated against FPV within 3 weeks before admission.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total 43.3% of cats were older than 6 months. There was no statistically significant difference between the two age groups regarding outcome, breed, sex, environmental conditions, vaccination status, clinical signs, and laboratory parameters with the exception of haematocrit: cats < 6 months had significantly lower haematocrit on the day of presentation than cats ≥ 6 months.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Feline panleukopenia is predominantly in young cats, but older cats can also suffer from the disease. Although young cats are at a higher risk of infection, cats at the age of < 6 months suffering from clinical disease do not have a higher risk of death. Clinical presentation, laboratory abnormalities, prognosis, and outcome did not differ significantly between cats younger versus older than 6 months of age.
authors.affiliation: Medizinische Kleintierklinik der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Veterinärstraße 13, 80539 München. d.kruse@medizinische-kleintierklinik.de
authors.forename: B Desiree
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Kruse
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Unterer
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Horlacher
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sauter-Louis
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hartmann
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D002415:Cats; D005254:Feline Panleukopenia / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D006400:Hematocrit / Q000662:veterinary; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome