Reovirus type 2 in domestic cats: isolation and experimental transmission

Five reovirus isolates were recovered in MA104 cell cultures from the faeces of three cats with nictitating membrane protrusion and diarrhoea, one cat with diarrhoea only and from one healthy cat. Four of these isolates were characterised as reovirus type 2 and one as reovirus type 3 by haemagglutination-inhibition and serum neutralization tests. Reovirus type 2 has not been reported previously in cats. Mild clinical signs of diarrhoea were noted in kittens infected experimentally with one of the feline reovirus type 2 isolates.