Affects: Cats, Dogs
Feline morbillivirus (Morbillivirus felis) is virus of the genus Morbillivirus that infects wild and domestic cats. The first report of a feline morbillivirus outbreak occurred in Hong Kong in 2012. About 10% of stray cats in Hong Kong and mainland China were reported to have the virus at the time with further infections found in Japan as well. 40% of cats tested in Japan were Fmo-PV positive and exhibited early symptoms of kidney failure. While the first cases of Feline morbillivirus were found in China, Hong Kong and Japan, the virus is also 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 morbilliviruses include measles, rinderpest, canine distemper and ovine rinderpest.