Science daily app1/17/2024 Vets say the “gold standard” treatment is a remdesivir drip for three to four days, followed by injections of the drug for up to a fortnight. In Britain, an antiviral used to treat Covid-19 called remdesivir, as well as a closely related drug called GS-441524, are approved for use in cats with FIP. Kittens and those under two years old are most at risk. If your cat displays symptoms – such as a fever, abdominal swelling, energy loss, and sometimes even aggressive behaviour – experts say to take them to the vet immediately. She told AFP that if FIP is not contained soon, Cyprus will become “the island of dead cats”.Ī huge outbreak of a cat coronavirus called feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) has raised concerns in Cyprus, especially amid reports a slightly different version may be circulating, but the virus is not unique to the country and has been previously reported in the UK. Those seeking their own solutions include 38-year-old Vasiliki Mani, a member of several animal welfare organisations, who spent around £3,000 of her savings on treatments for two sick strays. In the absence of government actions, some people are buying drugs themselves – and Dr Epaminondas told a Cypriot news outlet in May that there is a “flourishing” black market of cheap, unlicensed drugs. “This is a coronavirus, so on the back of the Covid outbreak this should be very possible if the drug companies want to do this,” she said. Prof Gunn-Moore urged the Cypriot government to make GS-441524, remdesivir and molnupiravir available for all cats, but said the ultimate control measure would be a vaccine. Dr Epaminondas estimates this would cost around £170 per animal – yet an application by the vets association to authorise the treatment for cats was rejected in May, because the government said human drugs cannot be imported for use for veterinary care. Although it is approved for use in animals in the UK, and for importation into Cyprus, it is expensive – between £2,500 and £6,000 for a cat weighing between 3kg and 4kg.Īnother potential option is a cheaper antiviral used to treat Covid-19 in humans, called molnupiravir. The drugs are remdesivir, used for Covid-19, and the closely related GS-441524. He said that part of the challenge around counting cases was that, with so many strays living across Cyprus, diagnosing and documenting every infection was almost impossible.ĭr Epaminondas said the “only way to stop the disease is medical treatment”, but this too has proved difficult.Įxperts want to start using two treatments on the cats, but bureaucratic hurdles and cost have so far hampered progress. The island’s feline population is estimated at around one million. “We have lost 300,000 cats since January ,” Dinos Ayiomamitis, head of Cats PAWS Cyprus and vice-president of Cyprus Voice for Animals, told Agence France Presse. Although just 107 cases have been officially reported, vets and animal advocates estimate the real figure is far higher. We must take this seriously.”Ĭyprus is a cat-loving country, and its history has long been intertwined with the furry creatures – archeologists have found evidence of their domestication dating back 9,500 years.īut on the island, locals who feed strays have reported that their regulars are increasingly disappearing as they succumb to the virus. If this virus gets to the UK it could cause many of our cats to die. “There is already some evidence – albeit anecdotal – that it may already be in Turkey, Lebanon and potentially Israel. She added that local authorities have set up an advisory team, launched a media awareness campaign and are working to change legislation to allow drugs to be used to treat cats, but stressed no felines should be allowed to leave the country without testing negative. Prof Danièlle Gunn-Moore, a specialist in feline medicine at the University of Edinburgh, told the Telegraph that an outbreak of this size “has never been seen in living or reported history”, with increasing reports of dead cats laying in the streets and suspicions that this could be a new, deadlier strain of FIP. The virus generally affects kittens and young cats. Symptoms include fever, abdominal swelling, energy loss, and sometimes even increased hostility. In a recent blog post, he added that this is the first “outbreak of this extent” ever reported, with previous FIP clusters generally restricted to catteries.
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