Cat virus from Cyprus detected in the UK for the first time

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Danger to British cats unclear

Photo: Uwe Anspach/ dpa

In Cyprus, thousands of cats have died in recent months due to a new form of a coronavirus that is safe for humans. Now the virus has been detected in Great Britain for the first time.

As a team of scientists led by virologist Christine Tait-Burkard from the University of Edinburgh reports, the researchers have discovered the variant called F-CoV-23 of the so-called feline coronavirus for the first time in a British cat. The animal had come to the island from Cyprus, and the importation of stray cats from the Mediterranean island was widespread in England.

In their study, which has so far only been published as a so-called preprint and has not yet been peer-reviewed, the team investigated the question of what is behind the outbreak in Cyprus. Normally, the virus does not spread so easily. But it is estimated that at least 8000,<> animals have died on the island, where hundreds of thousands of cats live as strays, but the actual number of victims could be much higher.

Studying the genome of the feline coronavirus responsible for the outbreak, the team has now discovered a combination of two different viruses. The spike protein, which is responsible for docking to the host cell, did not come from the feline virus, but from a corona variant that usually occurs in dogs.

This combination probably leads to the frequent outbreak of the dreaded feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) in infected cats (read more about this here) – because the animals do not die from the virus itself, but usually from a kind of peritonitis or other diffuse symptoms. FIP is common worldwide and is usually fatal for cats. It has long been known that this disease can be caused by mutated feline coronaviruses, but most of the time, these viruses are not transmitted so easily. That's why the violent outbreak in Cyprus observed from January 2023 onwards seemed puzzling.

Consequences for England's cats unclear

F-CoV-23, the variant responsible for this, is likely transmitted via animal faeces and oral routes. At present, however, there is no evidence that the virus can infect humans, dogs or other pets.

The impact on domestic cats in the UK is also difficult to assess. "I have to make it clear that it's very difficult to predict whether the virus will spread widely here or in other countries," writes Amanda Warr, a researcher at Twitter's successor X who was involved in the study. There are a lot of cats in Cyprus, which promotes the spread. But the animals there arguably have some immunity to precursor viruses, which may not be the case with cats in the UK.

So far, however, the scientists see no reason why British cat owners should deny their animals exercise and only keep them indoors. But if the animals seem depressed, have a fever, have convulsions or a swollen abdomen, a veterinarian should be consulted.

So far, the research team also sees no connection with Covid-19, the variant responsible for the pandemic in humans. After all, similar virus combinations have been observed in cats before.

In Cyprus, Covid-19 drugs that were actually developed for humans may even be administered to sick animals to prevent cat mortality. In August, a government spokesman said that preparations from stocks that are no longer used are being used for this purpose. According to animal welfare organizations, these are the antiviral preparations remdesivir and molnupiravir.

Joe