Research: New Hope for Cats with Feline Infectious Peritonitis

Feline coronavirus is widespread among the feline population. This complex and contagious disease—which is difficult to diagnose and almost always fatal—has remained a mystery to veterinary medicine since the 1960s. However, a team of American researchers* has just successfully conducted a landmark clinical trial. For the first time, the progression of feline infectious peritonitis has been halted to the point of remission, raising hopes for the eventual development of a treatment. Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), a highly contagious viral disease, primarily affects young cats (3 months to 3 years old) and older cats (10 to 14 years old), with an incidence five to ten times higher in group settings (catteries, shelters, breeding facilities). Currently, there is no specific treatment or effective vaccine against this disease, which presents with a wide range of clinical signs. For nearly 50 years, Dr. Niels C. Pedersen has been studying the complex nature of feline infectious peritonitis, which is almost always fatal. Today, he believes there is reason for hope. In fact, for the first time, a team of researchers from the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and the universities of Kansas and Wichita has succeeded in halting the progression of the disease in a clinical trial conducted on cats with feline infectious peritonitis (FIP). This initial trial used an antiviral agent to inhibit viral replication, similar to those used in the treatment of AIDS and hepatitis C in humans. Across the Atlantic, the Morris Animal Foundation recently committed $1.2 million to fund research aimed at advancing our understanding of feline infectious peritonitis. After a rigorous selection process, Dr. Yunjeong Kim’s team at the University of Kansas received an additional grant to conduct a clinical trial using the new compound to test it in other cats with feline infectious peritonitis. This clinical trial is currently underway, in collaboration with UC Davis, and is expected to last two years. In total, the researchers hope to include up to 70 cats in the study. For the first phase of the trial, 15 cats with both forms of the disease (wet or dry feline infectious peritonitis) were recruited. It will take two to three months to evaluate the preliminary results and determine which form of feline infectious peritonitis responds best to the treatment. In a second phase, recruitment will open for another group of cats that meet the trial’s guidelines. This research demonstrates that inhibiting viral growth is an essential part of the new treatment . The optimal dosage regimen for inducing long-term or even permanent remission of the disease remains to be determined. * http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/whatsnew/local_resources/pdfs/VM_CCAH_tearoffs_FIP.pdf