ArticleJournal of feline medicine and surgery2020
Preliminary investigation on feline coronavirus presence in the reproductive tract of the tom cat as a potential route of viral transmission.
Article in Journal of feline medicine and surgery, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- A meta-analysis of accuracy and sensitivity of chest CT and RT-PCR in COVID-19 diagnosis.Scientific reports · 2020Pooled it
- Molecular epidemiological surveillance of the feline coronavirus reveals novel recombinant FCoV strains with evidence of ongoing viral evolution.Virus research · 2026Article
- Epidemiological and Clinical Insights from 68 Veterinarian-Reported Cases of Feline Infectious Peritonitis During the Documented FIP Epizootic in Cyprus.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- From Challenge to Cure: A Look at Feline Infectious Peritonitis and Emerging Treatment Strategies and Breakthroughs.Veterinary sciences · 2025Review
- Review
- The Effect of Long COVID-19 Infection and Vaccination on Male Fertility; A Narrative Review.Vaccines · 2022Review
- Clinical and Molecular Relationships between COVID-19 and Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP).Viruses · 2022Review
- COVID-19 and male reproductive system: pathogenic features and possible mechanisms.Journal of molecular histology · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesFeline infectious peritonitis (FIP) is an immune-mediated disease initiated by feline coronavirus (FCoV) infection. To date, the only proven route of transmission is the faecal-oral route, but a possible localisation of FCoV in the reproductive tract of tom cats is of concern, owing to the involvement of the male reproductive tract during FIP and to the presence of reproduction disorders in FCoV-endemic feline catteries. The aim of the study was to investigate the presence and localisation of FCoV in semen and/or in the reproductive tract of tom cats, and its possible association with seroconversion and viraemic phase.
methodsBlood, serum, semen and/or testicle samples were obtained from 46 tom cats. Serology was performed on 38 serum samples, nested reverse transcriptase PCR (nRT-PCR) and reverse transcriptase quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) were performed on 39 blood samples and on 17 semen samples, and histology, immunohistochemistry and nRT-PCR were performed on 39 testicles.
resultsTwenty-four of 38 serum samples were positive on serology. Semen samples were negative on RT-PCR and RT-qPCR for FCoV, while all blood samples were negative at both molecular methods, except for one sample positive at RT-qPCR with a very low viral load. All testicles were negative at immunohistochemistry, while six were positive at nRT-PCR for FCoV. Serology and blood PCR results suggest that the virus was present in the environment, stimulating transient seroconversion. FCoV seems not to localise in the semen of tom cats, making the venereal route as a way of transmission unlikely. Although viral RNA was found in some testicles, it could not be correlated with the viraemic phase. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In the light of these preliminary results, artificial insemination appears safer than natural mating as it eliminates the direct contact between animals, thus diminishing the probability of faecal-oral FCoV transmission.
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