• Almost always fatal, and often rapidly so.
• First clinical signs seen in cats and dogs are usually behavioural changes: restlessness, anorexia and hypersalivation.
• Some dogs appear overexcited, continually barking.
• Often no clinical signs seen in cats as they run off to hide early in disease development.
• Intense pruritus, commonly localised around the face or mouth is often described as a characteristic sign of Aujeszky's disease in dogs.
• May become frenzied in an attempt to alleviate the intolerable itching, and self-mutilation can often result. It is in this form that the disease may be mistaken for rabies, but unlike rabid animals, cats and dogs with Aujeszky’s disease are rarely aggressive.
• But many infected animals are not pruritic.
• Terminal signs usually within 48 hours of the onset of clinical signs, include paralysis and coma.
• Some cats and dogs may die suddenly without showing any prior clinical signs.

Back to menu