Feline morbillivirus

Feline morbillivirus comes from the family Morbillivirus, specifically influencing wild and domestic cats. The first report of a Feline morbillivirus outbreak occurred in Hong Kong in 2012. Approximately 10% of stray cats in Hong Kong and mainland China were reported to possess the virus at the time with additional infections found in Japan as well. 40% of cats tested in Japan were Fmo-PV positive and exhibited early symptoms of renal failure. While the first cases of Feline morbillivirus were found in China, Hong Kong and Japan, the virus can also be found in Italy, Germany, and the United States. Feline morbillivirus exhibits a substantial amount of genetic diversity, yet cases in Japan and Hong Kong proved to have identical nucleotide sequences. It is also hypothesized that the morbillivirus has high adaptability due to its presence in multiple species. It is often found in dogs, cats, cattle, whales, dolphins, porpoises, and even humans. It likely originated from an ancestral version and underwent viral evolution to adapt to transmission in different species. Other common morbilliviruses include: measles, rinderpest virus, canine distemper virus and peste des petits ruminants virus. Feline morbillivirus comes from the family Morbillivirus, specifically influencing wild and domestic cats. The first report of a Feline morbillivirus outbreak occurred in Hong Kong in 2012. Approximately 10% of stray cats in Hong Kong and mainland China were reported to possess the virus at the time with additional infections found in Japan as well. 40% of cats tested in Japan were Fmo-PV positive and exhibited early symptoms of renal failure. While the first cases of Feline morbillivirus were found in China, Hong Kong and Japan, the virus can also be found in Italy, Germany, and the United States. Feline morbillivirus exhibits a substantial amount of genetic diversity, yet cases in Japan and Hong Kong proved to have identical nucleotide sequences. It is also hypothesized that the morbillivirus has high adaptability due to its presence in multiple species. It is often found in dogs, cats, cattle, whales, dolphins, porpoises, and even humans. It likely originated from an ancestral version and underwent viral evolution to adapt to transmission in different species. Other common morbilliviruses include: measles, rinderpest virus, canine distemper virus and peste des petits ruminants virus. Feline morbillivirus, like all morbilliviruses, possesses a negative-strand RNA genome. This virus has a spherical shape with an enveloped capsid and is approximately 150 nm in diameter. The capsid is covered by fusion and hemagglutinin proteins. Inside the capsid exists the negative-sense RNA genome, which is covered by nucleoproteins and matrix proteins, as well as a polymerase and phosphoprotein toward the end of the genetic material. The genome itself is arranged in a linear pattern and is about 15-16kb in length. It is known as the largest of all morbilliviruses due to its makeup of 16,050 base pairs. Guanine and cytosine pairings make up a considerable portion of the viral genome, ranging from 35.1% to 35.3%, in comparison to adenine and thymine. Morbilliviruses have a 3’ leader sequence and a 5’ trailer sequence typically made up of 40 or 41 nt. Feline morbillivirus, however, breaks the typical 5’ trailer sequence rule and has an unusually long sequence of 400 nt. The genome encodes for eight different proteins: N, C, P, V, M, F, H, and L. The L protein, also called large protein, is involved in ATP binding, RNA polymerase activity and mRNA methyltransferase activity. Thus, it is a multifunctional enzyme. The N gene exhibits the greatest incidence of nucleotide polymorphism, while P protein has the highest incidence of amino acid polymorphism. The viral classification scheme of the species Feline morbillivirus is as follows: Order: Mononegavirales Family: Paramyxoviridae Subfamily: Paramyxovirinae Genus: Morbillivirus. Species: Feline Morbillivirus