Feline Infectious Peritonitis Virus

ODEND'HAL, STEWART

Feline infectious peritonitis virus (FIP) is antigenically related with transmissible gastroenteritis (TGE) virus of swine, canine coronavirus, and human coronavirus 229E. The virus causes a variety of clinical manifestations from effusive peritonitis to noneffusive central nervous system (CNS) or visceral organ involvement. The hosts that are infected by feline infectious peritonitis virus include domestic cat (subfamily Felinae), lion, leopard, jaguar (subfamily Pantherinae), caracal, and lynx (subfamily Lyncinae); antibodies have also been found in cheetahs (subfamily Acinonychinae). The standard indirect fluorescent-antibody (IFA) technique of demonstrating antibodies against FIP virus uses either the cryostat sections of organ tissues from FIP affected cats or TGE virus-infected porcine cells as antigen preparations. High antibody titers in the sera/ascitic fluids of animals showing disease symptoms are taken as a confirmation of the clinical/pathological diagnosis.