Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Feline morbillivirus found in urine and kidneys of cats in Northern
By Stranieri, Angelica et al.·Published in Veterinary microbiology·2019·Department of Veterinary Medicine, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Feline morbillivirus in Northern Italy: prevalence in urine and kidneys with and without renal disease.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A study in Northern Italy looked at the presence of feline morbillivirus (FeMV) in cats, particularly those with kidney disease. Researchers tested urine and kidney samples from 92 cats and found FeMV in a small number of samples, but only in cats that did not have chronic kidney disease (CKD). This suggests that FeMV is not linked to the development of CKD in these cats. Overall, the findings indicate that while FeMV is present in some cats, it does not appear to cause kidney problems.
People also search for: cat kidney disease causes · feline morbillivirus symptoms · chronic kidney disease in cats
Abstract
Feline morbillivirus (FeMV) is an emerging virus that was first described in Hong Kong in 2012. Several reports suggested the epidemiological association of FeMV infection with chronic kidney disease (CKD) in cats. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence and the genetic diversity of FeMV as well as the relationship between FeMV infection and CKD in cats from Northern Italy. Urine (n = 81) and kidney samples (n = 27) from 92 cats admitted to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of the University of Milan between 2014 and 2017 were investigated for FeMV infection. FeMV RNA was detected in one urine sample (1.23%; 95% CI: 0.03-6.68%) and in two kidneys (7.40%; 95% CI: 0.91-24.28%). FeMV RNA was revealed only in urine or kidneys of cats without evidence of CKD. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the three strains clustered with FeMV strains retrieved from public database, forming a distinct sub-cluster of FeMV. The presence of distinct genotypes of FeMV found in this study is in accordance with previous studies demonstrating that FeMV strains are genetically diverse. A clear relationship between the presence of FeMV infection and CKD in the cats from Northern Italy was not observed, confirming recent reports that do not support the hypothesis that FeMV infection is associated with the development of CKD.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31176399/