''Alphacoronavirus 1'' is a species of

coronavirus Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the com ...

that infects cats, dogs and pigs. It includes the virus strains

feline coronavirus Feline coronavirus (FCoV) is a positive-stranded RNA virus that infects cats worldwide. It is a coronavirus of the species '' Alphacoronavirus 1'' which includes canine coronavirus (CCoV) and porcine transmissible gastroenteritis coronavirus (T ...

canine coronavirus Canine coronavirus (CCoV) is an enveloped, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus which is a member of the species ''Alphacoronavirus 1.'' It causes a highly contagious intestinal disease worldwide in dogs. The infecting virus enters its hos ...

, and

transmissible gastroenteritis virus Transmissible gastroenteritis virus or Transmissible gastroenteritis coronavirus (TGEV) is a coronavirus which infects pigs. It is an Viral envelope, enveloped, Sense (molecular biology), positive-sense, RNA, single-stranded RNA virus which ent ...

.'''' It is an enveloped,

positive-strand RNA virus Positive-strand RNA viruses (+ssRNA viruses) are a group of related viruses that have positive-sense, single-stranded genomes made of ribonucleic acid. The positive-sense genome can act as messenger RNA (mRNA) and can be directly translated int ...

which is able to enter its host cell by binding to the APN receptor. Member viruses were first recognised as viruses that caused transmissible gastroenteritis in pigs in 1965. It was originally named ''porcine transmissible gastroenteritis virus'' in 1976. After subsequent discovery of ''canine coronavirus'' in dogs and ''feline coronavirus'' in cats, the three virus species were merged into a single species in 2009. The strain canine coronavirus-HuPn-2018 has been identified in a small number of human cases.

Discovery

In the mid-1940s there was an outbreak of pig disease in US, called transmissible gastroenteritis, which was characterised mainly by diarrhoea and vomiting. It was suspected to be a viral infection and was highly fatal among young pigs. Leo P. Doyle and L. M. Hutchings reported the case in the ''Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association'' in 1946. The virus was identified and isolated by A. W. McClurkin in 1965. The International Committee for the Nomenclature of Viruses (ICNV, later renamed

International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) authorizes and organizes the taxonomic classification of and the nomenclatures for viruses. The ICTV has developed a universal taxonomic scheme for viruses, and thus has the means to app ...

, ICTV, in 1975) accepted the scientific named ''Transmissible gastro-enteritis virus of swine'' in its first report in 1971, but renamed it ''Porcine transmissible gastroenteritis virus'' (PTGV) in its second report in 1976.'''' There was another case of coronavirus infection in cats in 1966. The virus caused inflammation of the abdomen (peritonitis) and was highly fatal. The virus was identified in 1968, and was named as ''Feline infectious peritonitis virus'' by ICTV in 1991. It was again renamed ''Feline coronavirus'' in 1999. In 1974 there was an outbreak of viral infection among US military dogs. The virus was identified as a coronavirus and the formal name ''Canine coronavirus'' was adopted by ICTV in 1991''.'' As the molecular and antigenic relationship of the three viruses were later established in the late 1980s, ICTV merged them into a single species ''Alphacoronavirus 1'' in 2009''.''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q18965331 Animal viral diseases Alphacoronaviruses Dog diseases Cat diseases Swine diseases