Research overview: feline parvovirus biology and panleukopenia

Feline parvovirus, the cause of panleukopenia, is a small, environmentally hardy DNA virus that targets rapidly dividing cells, producing the profound leukopenia, intestinal damage, and, in fetal or neonatal infection, cerebellar hypoplasia that characterize the disease. Its biology is closely related to canine parvovirus, and the two viruses have an intertwined evolutionary history. This overview synthesizes the virology literature rather than one source, describing how the virus damages bone marrow and gut, why its environmental stability complicates disinfection in shelters, and how its relationship to canine parvovirus illuminates cross-species viral evolution. It matters because understanding parvovirus biology underlies both the severity of panleukopenia in unprotected cats and the robust immunity that core vaccination provides against this hardy, dangerous pathogen.