The first case of a strain of feline coronovirus that has killed thousands of cats in Cyprus has been found in the UK.
In the words of one of the leading experts on the virus, it is “pretty terrifying”.
Professor Danielle Gunn-Moore from Edinburgh University has spent more than two decades researching the illness.
She tells Sky News it’s likely the case traced by scientists wasn’t the first to reach the country – and it’s almost certain to crop up again.
Here’s what you need to know about why this strain is different, the symptoms cat owners should look out for and when you should act.
What happened in Cyprus?
A feline coronavirus started spreading through Cyprus, known as the “island of cats”, in January.
The deadly mutation of the virus is called feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), and is generally fatal unless treated.
Upwards of 8,000 cats died on the island – some reports put the number as high as 300,000.
Infected cats started receiving a human COVID-19 treatment from August, which Professor Gunn-Moore says had been effective in treating the illness.
What is different about the Cyprus strain?
The strain that originated in Cyprus is a recombination of a feline coronavirus and a canine coronavirus, and is called F-CoV-23.
It’s “particularly nasty”, Professor Gunn-Moore says, because it’s taken the pantropic spike from the canine virus – this means it “gets into all cells” rather than staying in one site.
For most cats who get the standard version of feline coronavirus, the virus will stay in the bowel and may cause some diarrhoea – but otherwise the symptoms are mild.
Occasionally the virus will travel to another part of the body and mutate, causing the more serious FIP.
With this “traditional” version of the illness, FIP arises from an “individual mutation in an individual cat”, Professor Gunn-Moore explains.
By the time the coronavirus has mutated to become an FIP-causing illness, it can’t then replicate in the bowel, meaning the more serious version of the illness is not transmissible through the cat’s faeces.
What is “terrifying” about the Cyprus strain is that the cats are shedding the same virus – meaning it has been passed directly between them, rather than needing to mutate individually in each animal, Professor Gunn-Moore says.
Is there anything else different about Cyprus?
There is a chance that the genetics of the cats in Cyprus has something to do with how easily the virus has spread.
Professor Gunn-Moore says she’s “really, really hoping” that is the case because that could mean it wouldn’t spread so “efficiently” in other countries – but at the moment there is no evidence one way or another.
Stray cats in the old city of Nicosia, Cyprus
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What do we know about the UK’s first known case of F-CoV-23?
The cat was brought to the UK from Cyprus and was taken to the vet after developing symptoms.
The cat is in quarantine so it can’t go outside and is now being treated with a high dose of anti-virals.
How likely is it the new strain will spread in the UK?
Professor Gunn-Moore has “major concerns” about the virus spreading in the UK.
She says she “can’t believe” this is the first case to exist in the UK.
There is a frequent passage of cats from Cyprus to the UK, she says, with some rescue centres working on a model of bringing back animals from Cyprus to rehome here.
There are also two army bases on Cyprus and people stationed there may be moving their pets between countries.
“Certainly we know that quite a lot of cats are getting rescued from Cyprus pretty regularly, so the chance of this happening again is high.”
What symptoms should cat owners look out for?
The clinical signs of FIP are the same whether it’s the standard strain or F-CoV-23, although neurological symptoms such as wobbliness and seizures are more common with the latter.
Kittens and younger cats are typically more susceptible to FIP, but in Cyprus the virus affected a “sweep of ages” – which also suggested immunity to a previous bout of feline coronavirus didn’t protect against the new strain, Professor Gunn-Moore says.
Other symptoms include a distended belly, possible breathing issues if the cat has fluid around its lungs, being depressed and off their food.
Do cat owners need to be worried?
Cat owners need to be vigilant, Professor Gunn-Moore says, but they don’t need to start keeping pets inside.
If you have rehomed a cat from Cyprus this year, or live near a cattery that gets rescues from Cyprus, you should be particularly careful, she adds.
“If they see the cat becoming depressed or swollen belly or wobbly back end, seizures, anything like that – just a cat that’s not feeling well – go to your vet quickly and say you’re worried about F-CoV-23.”
If the vet does diagnose FIP, they should get in touch with the team at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies at the University of Edinburgh which will sequence the virus to see if it is the standard strain or F-CoV-23.
The virus is mostly spread via an infected cat’s faeces. If your cat may come into contact with a cat that’s got a connection to Cyprus – a neighbour’s cat, for example, or other animals at a cattery – you should be extra-vigilant.
How is FIP treated?
There are two anti-viral COVID-19 drugs that are used to treat