Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Stopping coronavirus shedding in cats prevented deadly infectious
By Addie, Diane D et al.·Published in Viruses·2023·Maison Zabal, France·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Stopping Feline Coronavirus Shedding Prevented Feline Infectious Peritonitis.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of cats infected with feline coronavirus (FCoV) were treated with an antiviral medication called GS-441524 to see if it could stop the virus from spreading and prevent a serious illness called feline infectious peritonitis (FIP). After treatment, none of the cats developed FIP, and many showed improvement in their health. The study followed these cats for up to 3.5 years, and while a few did pass away, it was not due to FIP. This suggests that early antiviral treatment can be effective in preventing this potentially deadly disease in cats.
People also search for: cat coronavirus treatment · feline infectious peritonitis prevention · GS-441524 for cats · why is my cat sick · cat diarrhea and vomiting
Abstract
After an incubation period of weeks to months, up to 14% of cats infected with feline coronavirus (FCoV) develop feline infectious peritonitis (FIP): a potentially lethal pyogranulomatous perivasculitis. The aim of this study was to find out if stopping FCoV faecal shedding with antivirals prevents FIP. Guardians of cats from which FCoV had been eliminated at least 6 months earlier were contacted to find out the outcome of their cats; 27 households were identified containing 147 cats. Thirteen cats were treated for FIP, 109 cats shed FCoV and 25 did not; a 4-7-day course of oral GS-441524 antiviral stopped faecal FCoV shedding. Follow-up was from 6 months to 3.5 years; 11 of 147 cats died, but none developed FIP. A previous field study of 820 FCoV-exposed cats was used as a retrospective control group; 37 of 820 cats developed FIP. The difference was statistically highly significant (= 0.0062). Cats from eight households recovered from chronic FCoV enteropathy. Conclusions: the early treatment of FCoV-infected cats with oral antivirals prevented FIP. Nevertheless, should FCoV be re-introduced into a household, then FIP can result. Further work is required to establish the role of FCoV in the aetiology of feline inflammatory bowel disease.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37112799/