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Feline Infectious Peritonitis: K-State veterinary

faculty are on the trail of a killer


Cats may not actually have nine lives, but through the munificence of
Louise
Averill, investigators at K-State are hard at work to find a cure for a
disease that al-most
invariably takes a cat’s life.
Feline Infectious Peritonitis, or FIP, is caused by the mutation of
coronavirus-es
that attack the immune system. Coronavirus infections are fairly common
in
cats, but they do not always result in the development of FIP. There is no
current
cure for FIP and the disease is fatal. Although FIP is mainly associated
with do-mestic
cats, it is also known to occur in wild cats such as lions, leopards, lynx
and
especially cheetahs.
FIP manifests in two forms, wet and dry, which exhibit different
symptoms in
affected cats. In the wet form, fluid collects within the abdomen of the
cat, causing
a distended belly. The symptoms may be accompanied by diarrhea,
anorexia,
chronic fever and malaise. The dry form of FIP is harder to diagnose, as
the
signs seen with this form mimic those associated with other diseases. In
both
forms, lesions may occur in the eyes and in internal organs.
FIP is more prevalent in multiple cat households, as the virus needs
intimate
contact between cats in order to survive. It is not clear why FIP develops
in some
cats, but not in others.
“There is something in the host that triggers the illness,” said
Sanjay Kapil,
D.V.M. “We need to perfectly understand the biology of the virus and the
host, to
find a weak link.”
Kapil is one of the co-investigators benefiting from the funding that
Louise’s
gift made available. His expertise lies in the field of coronaviruses, and
he has al-ready
published in that field.
“It was very exciting that Louise Averill happened to pick a disease
caused
by a coronavirus,” said Kapil. “The importance of private gifts like this is
huge.
There are no federal funds for [studying diseases in] cats and dogs.”
Kapil hopes to isolate the susceptibility factors within cats that lead to
the de-velopment
of FIP. Once it is determined which cats are most susceptible and at
risk, vaccines can be administered more efficaciously.
Robert Hunter, Ph.D., hopes to take a pharmacological approach to
treating
FIP. With the help of Ruthanne Chun, D.V.M. and Heather Heeb, D.V.M.,
he will
study two different drugs as possible treatments for FIP.
“We hope to combine piroxicam, which can be toxic to the
gastrointestinal
system in cats, with cimetidine, an anti-ulcer drug, as an effective
immune sys-tem
stimulant,” said Hunter. “We’re working with normal cats first, and if this
is
safe, then we can move into clinical trials.”
Piroxicam is already used in dogs for its anti-tumor effects. The
combination
of drugs could help stimulate the immune system in cats to overcome the
virus.

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