Feline infectious peritonitis FIP is a viral disease in cats which carries a high mortality due to its characteristic aggressiveness and nonresponsiveness to fever, along with other complications. This disease is comparatively high in multi-cat households as compared to those with a single cat. It is difficult to diagnose, control, and prevent, and in cases of outbreaks within breeding catteries and kennels, can result in a high number of deaths. It is most often spread through inhalation of airborne contaminants and infected feces, but the virus can also be transmitted by humans who have come into contact with the virus, or can stay active on surfaces that have been contaminated.
This disease exploits weakened and immature immune systems, spreading by way of the white blood cells as they move throughout the body. The highest incidence is found in kittens three months to three years of age, with incidence decreasing sharply after cats reach three years of age, when the immune system is stronger.
Likewise, older cats with weakened immune systems are also more likely to acquire this disease. Symptoms of FIP vary depending upon the strain of virus involved, the status of the cat's immune system, and the organs affected. There are two forms reported, including wet effusive form , which targets the body cavities, and dry noneffusive form , which targets the various organs.
The wet form tends to progress more rapidly than the dry form, In either case, the body condition suffers, with the hair coat becoming rough and dull, and the cat becoming increasingly lethargic and depressed. FIP generally follows infection of a feline coronavirus, which typically does not cause any outward symptoms.
It is assumed that there are some types of coronaviruses that mutate into the feline infectious peritonitis, either on their own or as the result of a defect in the cat's immune response. Also complicating the matter is that a coronavirus can lie dormant in a cat's body over months before mutating into FIP. The FIP virus then infects the white blood cells, using them as transportation to invade the entire body.
This disease is historically difficult to diagnose because FIP can mimic other diseases. This is especially true of the dry form. There is no single laboratory test available that can point decisively to FIP, but your veterinarian may be able to make a presumptive diagnosis based on laboratory findings. A complete blood count may show changes in the number of white blood cells WBCs , and this will indicate that an infection is present, but it may not be clear what infection is present.
While an ELISA or IFA test will show the presence of coronavirus antibodies, it cannot distinguish the type of coronavirus, or even whether it is the cause of your cats' condition, only that your cat has been in contact with the virus and has developed antibodies to it.
The level of antibodies is not a predictor for your cat's susceptibility for developing the disease. Death due to the FECV-associated gastroenteritis is uncommon. Control and prevention of FECV are usually a concern only in breeding catteries and rescue shelters. Ingestion of virus-contaminated fecal particles should be prevented as much as possible. FECV can survive indoors for up to 7 weeks under dry conditions but is readily inactivated by most commercial disinfectants.
Ideally, cats should be housed in small three or four cats , closed groups. The room, cages, bedding, and litter boxes should be disinfected between groups. Although impractical in a shelter situation, cats should be housed in groups according to their antibody immunofluorescent antibody test seropositive or seronegative and virus shedding based on fecal PCR status.
Seropositive cats can be retested every 3—6 months and moved into seronegative groups as their antibody titer decreases. In a rescue or shelter situation, cats should be housed singly.
Seropositive cats should be mated only to other seropositive cats, and seronegative cats to other seronegative cats. Kittens born of seropositive matings or to a seropositive queen are protected from infection by maternally derived immunity until about 6 weeks of age. Kittens weaned from seropositive queens by 6 weeks of age are unlikely to acquire infection from the queen. Serologic testing of kittens should be delayed until 10—11 weeks of age, by which time seroconversion is likely. New cats should be serologically tested before introduction into a cattery or breeding program.
Only seronegative and virus-free fecal PCR cats should be introduced into an FECV-free cattery or a cattery attempting to eliminate the virus. Also see pet health content regarding feline enteric coronavirus Feline Enteric Coronavirus Diseases that affect the stomach and intestines include infectious diseases such as bacterial, viral, and parasitic diseases and noninfectious disorders such as tumors and obstruction.
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Etiology and Pathophysiology. The signs of effusive form of FIP usually develop and progress relatively rapidly and include development of the above-mentioned non-specific signs combined with the accumulation of fluid in body cavities, including the abdomen and the thorax chest cavity.
Affected cats may develop a pot-bellied appearance due to fluid accumulation in the abdomen, and if the fluid accumulation is excessive, it may become difficult for a cat to breathe normally. Unfortunately, there is currently no definitive test to diagnose FIP. While antibody levels, or titers, to coronavirus can be measured, they cannot definitively distinguish between exposure to FeCV and FIPV.
A positive result means only that the cat has had a prior exposure to coronavirus, but not necessarily to FIPV. In spite of this limitation, however, young cats that experience a fever that is not responsive to antibiotics and that have high coronavirus titers are often presumptively diagnosed with FIP appropriately in most cases. This is particularly true if characteristic fluid yellow tinged with a high protein and white blood cell concentration begins to accumulate within body cavities.
A healthy cat with a high coronavirus titer i. In cats with suppressed immune systems, FIPV infections may not cause elevated coronavirus titers due to an inability of the immune system to produce sufficient antibodies against the virus. Other available tests can, in theory, detect the presence of the virus itself. One of these tests, called the immunoperoxidase test, can detect viral proteins in virus-infected white blood cells in tissue, but a biopsy of affected tissue is necessary for evaluation.
Another, called the immunofluorescence test, can detect viral proteins in virus-infected white blood cells in tissue or body fluids. More recently, a technology called polymerase chain reaction PCR has been used to detect viral genetic material in tissue or body fluid.
Until recently, FIP was considered to be a non-treatable disease. While there are still some uncertainties regarding the long-term effectiveness of recently-identified antiviral drugs to treat FIP most importantly regarding its effectiveness in treating the non-effusive form of FIP , studies in both the laboratory and in client-owned cats with naturally occurring FIP suggest that a drug currently referred to as GS may ultimately prove to be an effective treatment option for minimally the effusive form of FIP.
While some cases of the non-effusive form of FIP responded to GS therapy in these trials, the responses in cases with this form of FIP were not as favorable as those seen in cases of the effusive form.
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