June 18th 2003
Cat-egorically in the clear
The cloud of suspicion over cats has lifted. The last suspect of the 140 strays picked up and tested by the authorities here has been declared Sars-free, said the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) yesterday.
Earlier tests had indicated in one cat a “borderline test result”, which could have been caused by contamination of blood and stool samples.
But the latest tests by the National Environ-ment Agency and Genome Institute of Singapore have ruled out Sars, said an AVA spokesman.
This means that so far, no cat has been found to be able to pick up or spread the virus.
Authorities had tested the cats, and dogs and rats, to see if they could pick up the Sars virus and pass it on to humans. All have been cleared.

June 21, 2003 EDT
Cats May Help Provide Clues to SARS
By Steve Dale
The World Heath Organization (W.H.O.) unintentionally began a world wide scare.
On Friday (May 23), they announced that doctors associated with the organization had traced what they believe might be the source of SARS to the civet cat as well as two other mammals.

In some Chinese provinces, government officials had already begun a campaign to encourage people to give up pets, who were about to be euthanased. The announcement of the presumed 'cat connection' has by all accounts worsened what amounts to pet hysteria in China. According to news reports, in Singapore, the government has ordered stray cats to be rounded up and killed.
(One account said that about 700 stray cats have been killed.ED)

What Are Civets Cats?
The W.H.O is expressing some concern about press reports. For one thing, they concede civet cats aren't actually cats in the first place. They have been called cats for generations because of their cat like bodies and patterning (such as leopard-like spots on some species), nocturnal nature and their ability to hunt in trees (though some prefer fruit). However, in truth, they are only distantly related to felines. Civets are scientifically classified as viverridae, and more closely related to species of mongoose.

According to the W.H.O., Yuen Kwok-yung, a microbiologist at Hong Kong University said the corona virus had indeed been found in the feces of palm civets. It's a mutated form of the corona virus (which is otherwise responsible for the common cold) that causes SARS. And some of the first known SARS cases occurred last November among chefs and others in Guangdong Province involved in the preparation of wild game for banquets.

Dr. Neils Pedersen of the University of California School of Veterinary Medicine - Davis studies virology and infectious diseases. He says, "It might be that the

disease first occurred in the palm civet and then mutated as corona viruses are wont to do to affect people. But they really need to examine how widespread this is, and if the civet is always responsible."

The truth is that many kinds of animals can get a form of a corona virus including birds, cows, pigs and rodents. "This is why, based on science, at this juncture killing cats or dogs in China makes no sense to slow the spread of the disease," Pedersen says. He adds, "In China, pets have been considered a capitalistic vice. If you have a pet, you pay what amounts to a pet tax, it's comparable to hundreds of dollars in American money — that's a great deal of money in China. Sadly, this is, in truth, more of a political issue playing on fears."

Several U.S. and Canadian veterinarians contacted for this column confirmed hearing from dog and cat owners, mostly from people with immuno-suppressant problems, concerned that somehow their pet will infect them with SARS.

According to the CDC, and W.H.O., at this point in time, there is no evidence whatsoever to link domestic cats or dogs to SARS. The two other animals identified by the W.H.O. who tested positive for the corona virus are a kind of badger and the raccoon dog (a rare kind of wild canine that looks like a raccoon). What does this mean? Well, it seems no one knows.

"Maybe the same potential exists in this case," says Pedersen. In fact, the answer to a cure for SARS might be found purring in your bed.

"This is a wonderful opportunity to learn both about SARS and a fatal mutating corona virus that occurs in cats — there may be some link," says Dr. Ron Lyman, of Ft. Pierce, FL, a veterinary internal medicine specialist with a formal residency in neurology.

Feline Infectious Peritonitis is a fatal disease in cats. When the corona virus occurs in cats, it's benign. In fact, most pet cats in America have been exposed to the corona virus — but their owners rarely know it because the cats don't get sick. However, in about three per cent of cats, this benign virus mutates into a fatal autoimmune-like disease called FIP. No one knows exactly why this happens.

Pedersen adds, "Clearly what happens with FIP in cats is different than SARS in people. We do in some ways perhaps know more about FIP in cats because we've been studying this. And it would be interesting to learn why SARS only affects certain people (as FIP affects only certain cats).

The National Institutes of Health encouraged research into Feline AIDS (Feline Immuno-deficiency Virus or FIV) because of its close relationship with human AIDS. While it's impossible to get AIDS from a cat, the two viruses are closely related and respond in similar ways. The research is proving successful. An FIV vaccine for cats has been established, and researchers say that this knowledge is being used to develop a human vaccine.

Dr. James Richards, director of the Cornell Feline Heath Center, Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine — Ithaca, NY. says, "Hopefully, we'll have fewer and fewer people to really look at with SARS, but there are many cats with FIP," It's possible that learning about how and why and under what circumstances the corona virus mutates into FIP in kitty cats, we can learn a lot about SARS."

Steve Dale's newspaper column is syndicated by Tribune Media Services. Steve is also the host of Animal Planet Radio. If you have comments and/or questions for Steve, write to PetWorld@aol.com