Filenews 6 April 2023
The Pancyprian Veterinary Association appealed yesterday to the Minister of Health to intervene for the distribution of hospital preparations, noting that the increase in cases of infectious peritonitis in cats, due to the coronavirus of cats, makes this need even more urgent. The Association, the Veterinary Services as well as the president of the Association for the Protection and Welfare of Cats clarify that there is no possibility of this disease being transmitted to humans from the animal.
The Director of the Veterinary Services, Christodoulos Pipis, said that based on information brought to his attention by private veterinarians, there is an increase in cases of infectious cat peritonitis in Cyprus.
Mr. Pipis said that he has already contacted the Director of Medical Services on the matter and asked her that, "in case there is any quantity of therapeutic preparations used in humans that are about to expire in a short period of time, they should be made available to the Veterinary Services" and then to private veterinarians. It is awaiting information on the estimated quantity of formulations that will be required.
The vice-president of the Cyprus Veterinary Association, Dimitris Epaminondas, said that there was an increased incidence of infectious peritonitis virus compared to previous years. He explained that the cat coronavirus mutates into another coronavirus that causes the symptoms of FIP and the clinical picture of infectious peritonitis, while being very contagious.
He reported that in 2019 a cure was discovered for infectious peritonitis, which is a fatal disease for cats. He said some human medicines approved for coronavirus, remdesivir and molnupiravir, had been used, and "we ask as an association to be able to access these medicines so that animals are not left." The symptoms, he said, beyond jaundice/fever are collections either in the abdomen or chest and anorexia or even neurological symptoms.
Mr. Epaminondas said that in the letter to the Minister of Health they addressed to solve long-standing problems of supply of medicines "that we have as veterinarians, not only that".
Asked if preventive measures can be taken, he said there is not much that can be done to prevent the coronavirus from being transmitted to animals. At the same time, the mutation is not prevented because no one knows what its mechanism is yet, he said. Therefore, there are no preventive measures when it comes to animals, he underlined.
Regarding the extent of the problem, a survey by the Association revealed that in 2021 there were about 100 suspected cases, of which 36 were confirmed by laboratory methods. In 2022 there were about 220 of which 100 were confirmed. This year (in the first three months) there were 500 cases of which 105 were confirmed.
The president of the Association for the Protection and Welfare of Cats, Dinos Agiomamitis, said that the problem is pan-European and came to Cyprus and there were huge losses. "Over 30% of cats died in Cyprus and counting."
