Coronavirus in population domestic cats

The popularization of highbred domestic animals and the development of diagnostic measures in veterinary medicine have contributed to an increase in the registration of coronavirus infections in animals. One of the widespread pathologies is Feline infectious peritonitis virus (FIPV) which takes place when a less pathogenic serotype of the virus mutates into a serotype with a pronounced clinical picture and high mortality. The disease registers mainly in young and aged felines. In places with the highest concentration of animals, seropositivity for the coronavirus, which causes FIPV, can reach up to 90%. The source of infectious agent is diseased or recovered cats, as well as virus carriers who excrete the virus with their feces. Penetrating into the epithelium of the mucous membrane of the pharynx and respiratory tract, the virus multiplies, then passes into the intestinal epithelium and persists. The disease can be exudative or granulomatous, depending on the extent of injury to blood vessels in the organs and tissues. The severe course of the disease is explained by affecting the macrophages by the virus. Macrophages lose the ability to express viral antigens on their surface, consequently specific antibodies do not identify the affected cells. The main clinical symptoms of FIPV include deterioration general condition, fever and cachexy. Aside from that, with the exudative form, ascites is noted, followed by the spread of the pathological process to other organs and tissues. The granulomatous form includes damage to the liver and kidneys. Both forms are often noted simultaneously in sick animals with involvement of the eyes and brain in the pathological process. Immunohistochemistry is the most informative laboratory test.