Detection of Feline Coronavirus in Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid from Cats with Atypical Lower Airway and Lung Disease: Suspicion of Virus-Associated Pneumonia or Pneumonitis
Journal
Animals
Journal Volume
14
Journal Issue
8
ISSN
2076-2615
Date Issued
2024-04-18
Author(s)
DOI
10.3390/ani14081219
Abstract
The premortem understanding of the role of feline coronavirus (FeCoV) in the lungs of cats is limited as viruses are seldom inspected in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) specimens of small animal patients. This study retrospectively analyzed the prevalence of FeCoV in BAL samples from cats with atypical lower airway and lung disease, as well as the clinical characteristics, diagnostic findings, and follow-up information. Of 1162 clinical samples submitted for FeCoV RT-nPCR, 25 were BAL fluid. After excluding 1 case with chronic aspiration, FeCoV was found in 3/24 (13%) BAL specimens, with 2 having immunofluorescence staining confirming the presence of FeCoV within the cytoplasm of alveolar macrophages. The cats with FeCoV in BAL fluid more often had pulmonary nodular lesions (66% vs. 19%, p = 0.14) and multinucleated cells on cytology (100% vs. 48%, p = 0.22) compared to the cats without, but these differences did not reach statistical significance due to the small sample size. Three cats showed an initial positive response to the corticosteroid treatment based on the clinical signs and radiological findings, but the long-term prognosis varied. The clinical suspicion of FeCoV-associated pneumonia or pneumonitis was raised since no other pathogens were found after extensive investigations. Further studies are warranted to investigate the interaction between FeCoV and lung responses in cats. © 2024 by the authors.
Subjects
bronchoalveolar lavage
feline coronavirus
feline infectious peritonitis
lower airway
lung
pneumonia
pneumonitis
SDGs
Publisher
MDPI AG
Description
Article number: 1219
Type
journal article