Pathogenesis and risk factors of feline infectious peritonitis

Abstract: Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) is a fatal disease amongst both domesticated and wild felines. Pathogenesis behind FIP is not completely clear, but the consensus states that Feline coronavirus (FCoV) acquires mutations in genes that code for example the Spike (S) protein and 3c (Bank-Wolf et al., 2014; Chang et al., 2012; Vennema, 1999). As there still are no treatment options or vaccines that would effectively protect felines from this disease, the pathogenesis and possible risk factors are the only ways to indirectly protect from the disease in domestic cat populations. If we can understand the risk factors to develop the disease the number of affected cats dying could be decreased, thus saving multiple pets’ lives. As we know quite much of how FCoV develops into FIPV there still is limited knowledge on why these mutations take place and that is why even research of pure statistical nature is of importance. Through statistics can individual elements, such as connections between prevalences of the viruses and individuals’ profiles, be observed from the FIP viewpoint and thus determine if they are significant in the diseases development or just anomalies which cannot be applied to a larger scale. The aim of this work is to identify possible risk factors for the development of FIP.