Detection of feline kobuviruses in diarrhoeic cats, Italy

- Kobuviruses were found in cats with diarrhoea.
- Kobuviruses were not detected in asymptomatic cats.
- The complete genome sequence of one such strains was determined.
- Kobuviruses resembling the newly described feline kobuviruses were identified.
- First evidence on the circulation of feline kobuviruses outside the Asian continent.

Kobuviruses have been identified in the enteric tract of several mammalian species but their role as enteric pathogens is still not defined. In this study, feline kobuviruses were found in 13.5% of cats with diarrhoea, but not in asymptomatic animals. In the full-length genome, one such strains, TE/52/13/ITA, displayed the highest nucleotide identity (96.0%) to the prototype strain FK-13. These results provide firm evidence that kobuviruses are common constituents of feline enteric viroma and that they are not geographically restricted to the Asian continent, where they were first signalled.