Pancytopenia answer ‘an urgent need’

Researchers at the RVC are still searching for the source of a deadly outbreak of pancytopenia after an investigation ruled out a Lincolnshire food factory as the cause.

A team at the RVC has been working to determine the source of the outbreak that has so far killed more than 350 cats since the RVC first raised the alarm in June.

The RVC is now aware of 565 cases of feline pancytopenia, with a mortality rate of 63% – researchers were able to gain these figures through a questionnaire sent in from vets nationwide.

Ongoing investigations

A spokesman for the RVC said: “Our investigations are ongoing and we are still collecting data from practising veterinarians, as well as testing food samples associated with affected and unaffected cats to determine the significance of these findings.

“We have shared our results with the Food Standards Agency [FSA] to assist them with their investigations into this matter.

“To support our ongoing efforts, we are encouraging vets who have seen cats with unexplained severe thrombocytopenia and/or neutropenia, with or without concurrent anaemia, to complete our survey.“

Cleared

On 26 August the FSA completed an investigation, clearing a Lincolnshire factory, Fold Hill Foods, after the outbreak was linked with a possible spike in mycotoxins discovered in dry cat food brands produced by the manufacturer.

In a statement on its website, the FSA has said that it is working alongside the APHA to identify the cause of the outbreak, but has cleared Fold Hill Foods as the cause of the outbreak.

A spokesman for Fold Hill Foods said: “We understand the investigation will continue to investigate other potential causes of the pancytopenia cases, including non-feed-related causes, with a multi-agency approach.

“As no causative link has been identified, Fold Hill Foods is working with its local authority to resume production of the three recalled brands.

“As cat owners ourselves, we fully understand how upsetting and stressful this ongoing situation is, and that an urgent need remains to establish why there has been an increase in cases of pancytopenia in the UK.”

‘No causative link’

Karen Humm, researcher for the RVC, said: “The FSA has said that it can’t prove a causative link, and the difficulty is that there are very strong associations between the food and the cases that were affected with pancytopenia. But to have a causative link you need to show that there is something in the food that is causing the disease, and that’s not been shown.

“The FSA has released information about mycotoxins and testing for mycotoxins, but the difficulty is that there isn’t much research out there about mycotoxins in food. So it’s hard to know what a toxic level for a cat would be.

“My understanding, in regards to the FSA, is that it can’t prove there is a link, and it can’t prove that there is not a link. Mycotoxins have been postulated as a potential cause for the outbreak of pancytopenia, but it would be very hard to prove that they were a cause because we don’t have safe levels recognised in cat food.

“When we first started reporting on cases there was a much higher mortality rate. What’s always difficult is relying on other people to provide us with information.

“So has the mortality rate genuinely gone down? Or is it that the disease is being more recognised and less severely affected cats are being recorded? It’s hard to say.”

Paper

Now numbers of reported cases have decreased significantly Miss Humm is collating information on the outbreak with a view to publishing a paper on the investigation.

She added: “The really good news is that the amount of case numbers has really decreased, and that’s a really positive thing.

“It’s stressful and we recognise that – there is lots of information on our website that we hope is useful to vets and pet owners who might be worried. The fact that the numbers are really decreasing has got to be a really positive thing.

“There was a strong association with the recall of the food and that seems to be working if indeed it was the cause at all. We’re collating all our information and looking at what we got. We are hoping we can submit something to a journal so long as we can get enough information together.

“We just want to say thank you to all the vets who have helped us with this, and we will try and get it all together and published.“