Of 28 cats in Antech's prospective study, 16 gradually became 7b antibody negative and all remain alive and healthy 6 months later. The remaining 12 cats have continued to be 7b positive; 3 of them have died of confirmed FIP (a 25% death rate during the study period). An additional cat in this 7b antibody positive group remains healthy but gave birth to kittens which promptly died of FIP, indicating active carrier status of their dam. These results clearly show the risk of developing clinically active FIP when 7b serology is positive, and demonstrate the prospective value of the test. Incidentally, all 28 cats in this study have been consistently coronavirus (FCV-IFA) positive, emphasizing the relative lack of prospective value of this assay.

* Antech now offers a new Cat Scan with FIPSE that replaces the FCV-IFA with the FIPSE. The cost for the profile (test code #1384) is $44.00.

We are most grateful to Drs. Lori Goeders and Caryl Handleman, Antech consultants, and to the veterinarians and cat owners who participated in this study.

Based on recent studies at Antech and in response to our clients' concerns about the sensitivity of our IFA assay to detect exposure to coronavirus, we are updating the dilutions performed in the FCV-IFA assay. To establish the appropriate dilutions, we performed the FCV-IFA assay on serum from 20 pathogen-free cats. Non-specific reactions were detectable at very low titers but all cats were negative for exposure to coronavirus. We will therefore continue to run the FCV-IFA assay at a 1:400 and a 1:1600 dilution, but will also offer a separate lower dilution test for coronavirus exposure at 1:25 only. Cats with titers < 1:25 are considered serologically negative for exposure to coronavirus. A POSITIVE TITER AT 1:25 DOES NOT INDICATE THAT THE CAT HAS FIP; ONLY THAT IT HAS BEEN EXPOSED TO A CORONAVIRUS.

+ = Positive
­ = Negative
ND = not done