Ultrastructural Evidence for the Viral Etiology of Feline Infectious Peritonitis

Infectious (chronic fibrinous) peritonitis of cats is a progressive febrile disease characterized by gradual abdominal enlargement due to ascites2-7. The course is prolonged and terminates fatally despite various antibiotic, corticosteroid, and supportive treatments. The disease may be reproduced in conventional or germ-free cats by intraperitoneal inoculation of ascitic fluid from affected animals23 7. The purpose of this report is to describe the preliminary results of filtration of infective material and electron microscopic studies on tissues of experimentally infected cats.