「ネコの島」キプロスで感染症流行

【ニコシア（キプロス）ＡＦＰ＝時事】地中海の島国キプロスの首都ニコシアにある動物病院に、ネココロナウイルスの一種による感染症にかかった生後６か月の茶色い子ネコ「ベベ」が運ばれてきた。（写真は猫伝染性腹膜炎〈ＦＩＰ〉に感染したネコ。ニコシアの動物病院にて）
　島のいたるところにネコがいる「ネコの島」キプロスで今、ネコの感染症が広がり、大混乱となっている。
　専門家によると、現在島に生息するネコの数は、島の人口とほぼ同数の約１００万かそれ以上で、そのほとんどが野良だ。
　ベベの診察に当たった獣医師は、猫伝染性腹膜炎（ＦＩＰ）の感染がここ数か月、急拡大していると言う。
　ＦＩＰのヒトへの感染はない。ただ、ネコの間での感染力は強い。感染した場合、発熱や腹部の膨満、衰弱などの症状が出るほか、攻撃的になることもあるという。
　慈善団体「キャッツ・パウズ・キプロス」のディノス・アヨマミティス代表によると、今年はすでに３０万匹が死んでいる。
　キプロスでは、島のネコの約３分の１がＦＩＰにより死んだと推定されている。
　■歴史ある「ネコの島」
　キプロスでは、ネコとの関係において長い歴史をたどることができる。
　言い伝えによると、約１７００年前にローマ帝国のヘレナ皇太后が毒ヘビ駆除のため、キプロスに初めてネコを持ち込んだとされる。
　世界で最も早くからネコが家畜化されていたという考古学的証拠もある。新石器時代のシロウロカンボスという村で、約９５００年前に人と一緒に埋葬されたネコが見つかっている。
　ＦＩＰ感染拡大を抑制するため、新型コロナウイルス感染症（ＣＯＶＩＤ－１９）の治療薬「レムデシビル」と化学的に類似する抗ウイルス薬「ＧＳ－４４１５２４」の使用が検討されている。この薬は制限付きで英国において動物への使用が認められており、キプロスへの輸入も承認されている。
　だが、ネコ１匹当たり３０００～７０００ユーロ（約４７万円～約１１０万円）と多額の費用がかかる上、キプロスでの供給はない。
　また、経口抗ウイルス薬「モヌルピラビル」の使用も検討されたが、キプロスでは動物への使用が認められていない。ネコ１匹当たりの薬価は２００ユーロ（約３万１０００円）と「ＧＳ－４４１５２４」よりも安価なため、政府に使用許可を求める動きがここ数週間広がっている。
　農業・農村開発・環境省はＡＦＰに対し、「欧州市場で入手可能なさまざまな治療薬」から対応を検討していると述べた。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2023/07/31-17:01）

A sickly ginger kitten named Bebe is pulled out of a cat carrier at a veterinary clinic in the Cypriot capital, Nicosia.
The six-month-old is suffering from a strain of feline coronavirus that is wreaking havoc on the prolific cat population of Cyprus.
Cats are everywhere on the eastern Mediterranean island, home to the earliest evidence of the animal's domestication and known by some as the island of cats.
Many of the island's felines are strays. They wander at will into people's gardens, sit expectantly beside restaurant diners in hopes of a tasty morsel, and loiter near garbage bins.
Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), which is not transmittable to humans, has rapidly spread across Cyprus in recent months, being highly contagious among cats, veterinarian Kostis Larkou said as he gently examined the visibly disoriented Bebe.
Animal advocates say the number of cats dying from disease is significantly higher than the 107 cases of FIP officially reported by the agriculture ministry in the southern part of the island.
We have lost 300,000 cats since January from FIP, said Dinos Ayiomamitis, head of Cats PAWS Cyprus and vice-president of Cyprus Voice for Animals.
Cyprus has been split since a 1974 Turkish invasion in response to a Greek-sponsored coup. The self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which covers the northern third of the island, is recognised only by Ankara.
But cats on both sides of the United Nations-patrolled buffer zone are dying from the illness.
Experts say the island's cat population is equal to or even exceeds the human population of a little more than one million.
In the south, Ayiomamitis estimates that a third of the cats have succumbed to the virus. Cats with FIP have symptoms including fever, abdominal swelling, weakness, and sometimes even aggressiveness.
But with so many stray cats, the contagion has proven difficult to diagnose and document.
- Ancient cat history -
Cypriots have a long and intertwined history with their furry friends.
Legend has it that a Roman empress, Helena, first brought cats to Cyprus to do away with poisonous snakes about 1,700 years ago.
But archaeological evidence of cats' domestication on the island dates back further than anywhere else in the world -- to 9,500 years ago at the Neolithic village of Shillourokambos, where the remains of a cat and a human were found deliberately buried together.
That bond between feline and human has continued through the millennia, leaving animal lovers like Ayiomamitis taking care of the island's cats today.
He has fears, though, for the roughly 60 cats he has been feeding at a cemetery in the capital for a quarter of a century.
The colony is doing well, but we are worried because if one is infected, the others will be too, says the retiree, 70, as cats scampered up marble tombstones.
Several people who feed stray cats told AFP that many of their regulars are disappearing, and very few corpses are found, noting that when cats are sick, they often self-isolate and die alone.
An outbreak is suspected to be also spreading across cat populations in nearby Lebanon, Israel and Turkey, but in the absence of studies, that cannot be confirmed, said Demetris Epaminondas, vice president of the Pancyprian Veterinary Association.
To contain the spread, two treatment options have been considered. One is molnupiravir, an anti-Covid pill which officials say could not be authorised for use on animals in Cyprus.
Another antiviral tablet, GS-441524, chemically similar to the Covid-19 treatment remdesivir, is approved for animal use in Britain and for importation to Cyprus, with restrictions.
But its cost, at 3,000 to 7,000 euros (about $3,300-$7,700) per cat, is prohibitive, and there is no supply in Cyprus.
- Black market -
For weeks, Epaminondas has been trying to obtain government authorisation for molnupiravir, which would cost a far more affordable 200 euros per cat.
The agriculture ministry told AFP it was examining all possible means of addressing the issue through various therapeutic preparations available on the European market.
Some have resorted to clandestine methods to save their pets.
We bought our medicines on the black market online, or from Facebook groups. But we keep our suppliers secret so that we can continue to treat our animals, said one Cypriot, requesting anonymity because of the questionable legality of her actions.
Vasiliki Mani, 38, a member of several animal welfare organisations, is demanding a swift solution.
In January, she spent 3,600 euros to treat two stray cats with FIP.
I have spent all my savings, she said, denouncing the cruelty of allowing animals to die in Cyprus.
If FIP continues to spread, Mani lamented, Cyprus will become the island of dead cats.