NICOSIA, Cyprus — The head of the Association of Cypriot Veterinarians on Wednesday dismissed claims that a local mutation of the cat virus has killed up to 300,000 cats on the small Mediterranean island.
The director of the Pancyprian Association of Veterinarians, Nektaria Ioannou Arsenoglou, said the group’s survey of 35 veterinary clinics showed that the total death toll across the island was just under 8,000. Figures provided by local animal activists and corroborated by foreign media “just add up,” says Arsenoglu.
It is spread by contact with cat feces, and neither the virus nor its mutations can be transmitted to humans.
Specific drugs that can treat “wet” and “dry” forms of the disease are very expensive, although Arsenoglu said he was “optimistic” that the government would get more drugs soon.
It’s unclear how many feral cats live in Cyprus, where they are commonly loved and have a long history. According to Byzantine legend, Saint Helen introduced cats to Cyprus to control the poisonous snakes that plagued the island when she was on her way back to Constantinople after completing her quest to find the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified.
A Cypriot cat activist who goes by the name Marina Neao and maintains a feral cat colony has complained to the Associated Press that authorities are slow to find a cheap drug to tackle the spread of the virus.
The spike caught the attention of vets as well as many of the island’s cat caretakers in January this year, said Arsenoglou, with cases continuing to rise until mid-spring when they stabilized.
He said that the Association of Veterinarians had set up a working group to monitor the spread of the mutation and keep veterinarians and activists informed of the latest developments.
The novel coronavirus has been around since 1963. Previous epidemics, including one in Greece more than two decades ago, have subsided without the use of any medication.
Measures have been taken to prevent export of mutations with mandatory medical examinations for all cats to be adopted abroad.
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This story has been edited to reflect that the virus is a localized mutation of the feline coronavirus unrelated to COVID-19
2023-07-20 16:53:38
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