Feline coronavirus
| Feline coronavirus | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Canine coronavirus (the same species as Feline coronavirus) antigen in canine lung tissue | |
| Virus classification | |
| Group: | Group IV ((+)ssRNA) |
| Order: | Nidovirales |
| Family: | Coronaviridae |
| Subfamily: | Coronavirinae |
| Genus: | Alphacoronavirus |
| Species: | Alphacoronavirus 1 |
| Subspecies: | Feline coronavirus |
Feline coronavirus (FCoV) is a positive-stranded RNA virus that is infectious to cats worldwide. This virus is part of the Alphacoronavirus 1 species of the Alphacoronavirus genus belonging to the Coronaviridae family of viruses. Alphacoronavirus 1 also includes the canine coronavirus (CCoV) and the Porcine transmissible gastroenteritis coronavirus (TGEV). It has two different forms; the FECV (feline enteric coronavirus) that infects the intestines and the FIPV (feline infectious peritonitis virus) that 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. In environments with multiple cats, the transmission rate is much higher compared to single-cat environments. The virus is insignificant until mutations cause the virus to be transformed from FECV to FIPV. FIPV causes feline infectious peritonitis for which there is no known cure; treatment is generally symptomatic and palliative only.
Feline enteric coronavirus is responsible for an infection of the mature gastrointestinal epithelial cells (see also enterocytes, brush border, microvilli, villi). This intestinal infection has few outward signs, and is usually chronic. The virus is excreted in the feces of the healthy carrier, and can be detected by Polymerase Chain Reaction or "PCR" of feces or by PCR testing of rectal samples.
...
Wikipedia