[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" z_index="" padding_top="60" padding_bottom="60"][vc_column][vc_column_text]To the numerous owners of cats with FIP that contact us daily: I am sorry but our field trials on GC376 and GS-441524 have been completed and we are no longer accepting cats with FIP...
[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_single_image image="15877" img_size="full" qode_css_animation=""][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_column_text]These four cats were pioneers in the FIP Studies at UC Davis and are being offered for adoption. They deserve to find good homes in gratitude for their contributions to the UC Davis anti-FIP...
[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text]People from left to right are: Dr. Chrissy Eckstrand, Dr. Brian Murphy - Collaborators from Veterinary Pathology Dr. Michael Kent, Director, CCAH, Carol Horace - SOCK FIP, Dr. Niels Pedersen and Hongwei Liu, CCAH[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]...
Announcing the newest members of the SOCK FIP family - Dr. Pedersen's wife Gerie with their adopted boys - brothers Piper (on her right) and Frodo (on her left) - at 6 months old. Notice Gerie is wearing an original SOCK FIP t-shirt!...
The SOCK FIP executive board makes their annual donation to FIP research at UC Davis in the form of a check for $11,000 to Dr. Niels Pedersen and the UC Davis Center for Companion Animal Health. The money will be used exclusively for finding effective...
A dry form of disease analogous to dry FIP is becoming increasingly more common in pet ferrets in North America, Europe and Asia. It is referred to as ferret infectious peritonitis (FIP), which is confusing because FIP is the term used for the cat disease....
Based on the results that have been presented to date, we cannot recommend PI as a means to treat or prolong life in cats with any form of FIP.
Polyprenyl immunostimulant (PI) is classed as a biologic by the USDA and is manufactured by Sass and Sass in Tennessee (http://www.sassandsass.com/). PI has been given a conditional license by the USDA as therapeutic for “symptoms” of feline herpes virus infection. According to the Sass and Sass website they are conducting research on its use for FIP and other diseases of companion animals. Although not currently approved for the treatment of FIP by the USDA, it is being widely used off label for prolonging the life of cats with milder forms of FIP. It has not shown any benefit for treating or prolonging life of cats with wet FIP or cats with severe disease signs at the onset of therapy. Although touted on the web and by certain individuals as a way to prolong the life of cats with FIP, in particular the milder dry forms, it is important to review what is known about the efficacy of PI when used for this purpose. PI may cost over $400 a month if used on an average size cat and dosed accordingly and this expense can be magnified by associated veterinary expenses.
Niels C. Pedersen,DVM, PhD; Director Center for Companion Animal Health, University of California, Davis, CA
Over 100 published articles have appeared in the world’s literature concerning FIP since my extensive review of FIP in 2009 (1). The following is a summary of significant findings from a portion of these published works.
Origin of FIPV (the FECV to FIPV mutation)
The debate over the origins of the FIP virus (FIPV) continues to some degree, but there is no doubt that FIPV arises as a mutant of the ubiquitous feline enteric coronavirus (FECV). Although FIPVs are virtually identical genetically to FECVs within the same environment (2-4), FIP causing mutations are nonetheless unique to each cat (2,3,5,16). The nature of the mutations that cause an FECV to change to an FIPV has been the topic of several recent publications. The 3c accessory gene mutations were the first to be implicated in FECV-to-FIPV conversion (reviewed 1) and these findings have been corroborated by additional studies (2,3). However, a group from the University of Utrecht, after sequencing the complete genomes of a large number of FIPVs and FECVs, found a second mutation that occurred only in FIPVs (5). This mutation consisted of one or more single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the fusion domain of the spike (S) gene that caused minor (synonymous) changes in single amino acids within this region.
WINN FELINE FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES 2012 EXCELLENCE IN FELINE RESEARCH AWARD RECIPIENT, NIELS PEDERSEN, DVM, PhD, AT AVMA CONFERENCE IN SAN DIEGO, CA
Wyckoff, NJ, August 8, 2012: Niels Pedersen, DVM, PhD, is the winner of the 2012 Excellence in Feline Research Award from Winn Feline Foundation and the American Veterinary Medical Foundation (AVMF). Dr. Pedersen was recognized due in large part to his work as a pioneer in infectious diseases in cats having produced 220 research publications and authored a number of textbooks on feline husbandry and infectious diseases. As a member of the faculty at the School of Veterinary Medicine at University of California at Davis, Pedersen is currently a distinguished professor and director of both the Center for Companion Animal Health and Veterinary Genetics Laboratory.
Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) might be the most dreaded diagnosis for cats. That's because it usually happens to babies, little kittens. FIP - up 'till now - has always been considered a fatal disease. Finally, it seems, there may be hope - at least for...
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