Feline coronavirus

Feline coronavirus
Virus classification Edit this classification
(unranked): Virus
Realm: Riboviria
Kingdom: Orthornavirae
Phylum: Pisuviricota
Class: Pisoniviricetes
Order: Nidovirales
Family: Coronaviridae
Genus: Alphacoronavirus
Subgenus: Tegacovirus
Species:
Alphacoronavirus 1
Virus:
Feline coronavirus
Strains[1]

Feline coronavirus (FCoV) is a positive-stranded RNA virus that infects cats worldwide.[2] It is a coronavirus of the species Alphacoronavirus 1, which includes canine coronavirus (CCoV) and porcine transmissible gastroenteritis coronavirus (TGEV). FCoV has two different forms: feline enteric coronavirus (FECV), which infects the intestines, and feline infectious peritonitis virus (FIPV), which causes the disease feline infectious peritonitis (FIP).

Feline coronavirus is typically shed in feces by healthy cats, and transmitted by the fecal-oral route to other cats.[3] In environments with multiple cats, the transmission rate is much higher compared to single-cat environments.[2] The virus is insignificant until mutations cause it to be transformed from FECV to FIPV.[2] FIPV causes feline infectious peritonitis, for which treatment is generally symptomatic and palliative only. The drug GS-441524 shows promise as an antiviral treatment for FIP, but at the moment it still requires further research.[4] The drug GC376 is also being studied and developed.

  1. ^ "ICTV 9th Report (2011) Coronaviridae". International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV). Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  2. ^ a b c Taharaguchi, Satoshi; Soma, Takehisa; Hara, Motonobu (2012). "Prevalence of Feline Coronavirus Antibodies in Japanese Domestic Cats during the Past Decade". Journal of Veterinary Medical Science. 74 (10): 1355–8. doi:10.1292/jvms.11-0577. PMID 22673084.
  3. ^ Hartmann, Katrin (2005). "Feline infectious peritonitis". Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice. 35 (1): 39–79. doi:10.1016/j.cvsm.2004.10.011. PMC 7114919. PMID 15627627.
  4. ^ Pedersen, NC; Perron, M; Bannasch, M (2019). "Efficacy and safety of the nucleoside analog GS-441524 for treatment of cats with naturally occurring feline infectious peritonitis". Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery. 21 (4): 271–281. doi:10.1177/1098612X19825701. PMC 6435921. PMID 30755068.