An Asiatic Golden Cat that recently died of pancreatitis at Melbourne Zoo in Australia has been found to have also had transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE), a rare brain disease. Dr. Hugh Millar, chief veterinary officer of the Australian Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said the condition, which is not contagious, was uncovered following routine investigations undertaken by zoo veterinarians after the death of the cat.
“Asiatic Golden Cats are an endangered species and zoo breeding programs are vital for their survival,” Millar said. “This animal was born in a zoo in Germany in 1992 and imported to Melbourne Zoo from the Netherlands in 1998 under the standard lifetime quarantine conditions. During its captivity, the cat was only ever fed chicken, rat, rabbit, and kangaroo meat.”
After the cat’s death from pancreatitis, routine pathological screening of tissues collected at autopsy revealed lesions suggestive of TSE. Samples were sent to Europe for further confirmation.
TSEs are a group of diseases that include bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and scrapie in sheep and goats, neither of which occur in Australia. According to Millar, Australian authorities had previously diagnosed a TSE case in a cheetah imported from a British zoo, but that this was the first report of a TSE in an Asiatic Golden Cat.
The history of this case, including feeding practices at the Melbourne Zoo, indicates that the cat acquired the TSE before being imported. Therefore, the diagnosis will not affect Australian’s TSE-free status for animals. Australia will maintain its European Union geographical BSE risk-1 classification.
October 2002 Render