General information
Feline morbillivirus (FeMV) is a member of the Morbillivirus genus in the Paramyxoviridae family. which also includes canine distemper virus, rinderpest virus and small ruminant morbillivirus (peste-des-petits-ruminants virus), measles virus in humans and cetacean morbillivirus in marine mammals. Infection with FeMV is associated with chronic tubulointerstitial nephritis, which leads to chronic kidney disease, one of the most common causes of death in older cats. FeMV was first discovered in China in 2012 and has since been detected worldwide. It is currently assumed that there are two different FeMV genotypes (FeMV-1 and FeMV-2), which probably lead to different clinical manifestations. Concerning the pathogenesis, it is still unclear whether FeMV infections directly cause chronic kidney disease or whether the virus primarily affects kidney tissue that is already damaged. It seems that FeMV is not only limited to cats, as it has also been detected in opossums with pneumonia and nephritis as well as in dogs. In dogs, however, the virus has so far only been described as part of kennel cough (canine infectious respiratory disease complex).