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Feline Panleukopenia Virus Confirmed in Four Free-Ranging Bengal Tiger Cubs

Wild Bengal tiger cub in dry grassland at Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, India
Research: Disease, parasites & microbiology, Genetics & genomics

Feline panleukopenia virus (FPV) was confirmed by PCR in four free-ranging Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) cubs from South India. The study was published online in the Journal of Wildlife Diseases on 30 July 2026.

The researchers also analysed sequences from the viral VP2 gene. Phylogenetic comparison placed the tiger-associated sequences together with FPV isolates previously detected in domestic cats and wild carnivores from the South Indian landscape.

The study therefore links the viruses detected in the tiger cubs genetically with FPV already known from other carnivores in the same broader region. The authors say this clustering highlights the potential for pathogen spillover at domestic–wildlife interfaces. The phylogenetic clustering does not by itself show which host species transmitted the virus to the tiger cubs or establish the direction of transmission.

Sources and image credit

  1. Mirza et al. (2026), Journal of Wildlife Diseases — Molecular Detection and Phylogenetic Characterization of Feline Panleukopenia Virus in Free-Ranging Bengal Tiger Cubs (Panthera tigris tigris) from South IndiaPrimary peer-reviewed study published online 30 July 2026. Confirmed feline panleukopenia virus by PCR in four free-ranging Bengal tiger cubs from South India. VP2 gene sequences clustered phylogenetically with domestic-cat and wild-carnivore isolates from the South Indian landscape, leading the authors to highlight potential pathogen spillover at domestic–wildlife interfaces.
  2. PubMed — Molecular Detection and Phylogenetic Characterization of Feline Panleukopenia Virus in Free-Ranging Bengal Tiger CubsBibliographic record and abstract confirming publication date, study material and principal molecular result.

Image: Rohit Sharma — wild Bengal tiger cub in Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra, India, 13 March 2021. Source: Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0. Representative wild-cub image; not one of the study animals. · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

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