Veterinarian Column: [Coronavirus] About the coronavirus that infects dogs and cats

At veterinary hospitals, we are increasingly receiving questions such as "Can the new coronavirus infect pets?" and "Can the coronavirus in dogs and cats infect humans?"

This time, I would like to explain in detail about canine coronavirus and feline coronavirus.

◎ Canine coronavirus

Canine coronavirus causes mild gastroenteritis. Puppies may die if not treated properly.

Symptoms: Symptoms include loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, and dehydration.

・Diagnosis: It can be tested using clinical symptoms, antibody tests, and PCR tests, but it is rarely possible to make a definitive diagnosis because the symptoms are mild compared to other enteritis.

・Treatment: There is no specific treatment. Treatment includes intravenous fluids and gastrointestinal motility regulators. Most will recover with the passage of time. (There is a vaccine for canine coronavirus, but it is not effective against the new coronavirus.)

◎ Feline coronavirus

Feline coronaviruses are known as feline enteric coronavirus ( FECV ) and feline infectious peritonitis virus ( FIPV ). The two viruses are difficult to distinguish; the only difference is their pathogenicity. It is thought that FECV causes mutations in FIPV , but the details are not known.

◎ Feline enteric coronavirus (FECV)

Symptoms: Adult cats are often asymptomatic, but kittens may experience temporary diarrhea and fever.

・Diagnosis: Although it can be tested by antibody titer test, it is said that there is little significance in diagnosing feline intestinal coronavirus.

・Treatment: There is no specific treatment. Treatment includes intravenous fluids and gastrointestinal motility regulators. The prognosis is good.

◎ Feline infectious peritonitis virus (FIPV)

It is an infectious disease with a high mortality rate, with most cats dying from the disease.

Symptoms: Symptoms are non-specific. Symptoms include anorexia, weight loss, fever, vomiting, diarrhea, pallor of visible mucous membranes, jaundice, pleural and ascitic effusion, ophthalmitis, and neurological symptoms.

Clinical symptoms are classified into wet type, in which pleural effusion and ascites accumulate, dry type, in which pleural effusion and ascites do not accumulate, and ophthalmitis and neurological symptoms occur, and a mixed type.

・Diagnosis: In addition to clinical symptoms, diagnosis is made by combining test results such as hyperproteinemia, albumin / globulin ratio, increased feline coronavirus antibody titer, hypergammaglobulinemia, and genetic testing for the virus from blood, pleural effusion, and ascites. To do.

・Treatment: No complete treatment has been established. Treatment involves administering prednisolone or interferon. Feline coronavirus is killed by alcohol, so thorough disinfection is also important.

This is good news for feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), which has been considered an incurable disease.

MUTIAN has been reported to be a safe and effective treatment for infectious peritonitis in cats, and many cases of complete recovery from infectious peritonitis have been reported. Since it is not approved in Japan, it is expensive, and there are only a limited number of veterinary hospitals that handle MUTIAN . If you wish to receive treatment with this drug, please search for " MUTIAN affiliated hospital " and find a veterinary hospital that you can visit. The advantage of receiving MUTIAN treatment at a partner hospital is that you can receive free treatment in the event of recurrence.

Canine and feline coronaviruses cannot be transmitted to humans. The coronavirus that causes enteritis in dogs and cats is not a very scary virus, but the feline coronavirus that causes infectious peritonitis is a scary disease because it has a high mortality rate and there is no prevention method. We are waiting for MUTIAN to be approved as a drug in Japan.

References

Dog and Cat Treatment Guide