This condition, often triggered by feline herpesvirus-1 (FHV-1) or feline calicivirus (FCV), manifests with symptoms such as coughing, sneezing, nasal congestion, red eyes, fever and pus-like discharges from the nose and eyes.
The university announced that their new product, which directly targets the viruses causing the disease, is set to hit the market soon.
Current treatments mainly focus on managing symptoms and preventing secondary bacterial infections with antibiotics, as there has been no direct antiviral treatment available in veterinary medicine for FCV.
Research by Jagiellonian University scientists including Prof. Krzysztof Pyrć, Prof. Maria Nowakowska and Prof. Krzysztof Szczubiałka led to the discovery of a sulfonated polystyrene derivative, a compound also approved for human use, effective against the viruses responsible for cat cold.
Field tests involving 26 cats with acute and chronic forms of the disease were conducted in partnership with a veterinary clinic in Kraków.
These tests showed significant improvement in many of the cats, reducing both the viral load and specific symptoms associated with the disease, without any observed adverse effects.
Pyrć expressed optimism about the product's potential: "The improvement included both a reduction in the amount of virus and specific symptoms of cat cold. Importantly, we observed no adverse effects. Our technology will now be developed further by [specialist veterinary pharmacological firm] Vet Planet, and we hope it will be commercially available soon."
(rt/gs)
Source: PAP
