Aaachh-who? Respiratory viral infections in cats and dogs: What’s new and what matters

“Cat flu”. “Kennel cough”. “CIRD”. The fact that we often use these syndrome identifiers is telling. We do the same in humans – “ the common cold”. The respiratory tract can only respond in a limited number of ways, and many pathogens cause similar clinical signs that are frequently self-limiting and so don’t require specific diagnosis.
Sneezing and coughing are, frankly, brilliant ways to spread infection, projecting virus-laden droplets into the surrounding air with little anyone can do to stop it; you can see why respiratory pathogens are so hard to control.
Here we will briefly review some of the main pathogens involved and touch on some important questions relating to vaccines, when to treat, and when is it worth carrying out more specific diagnostic testing. And if that does not excite you. There is one new pathogen out there that can also cause mastitis in cows, and is zoonotic and can even (thankfully rarely) be lethal. If you are not sure what that is then read on….

• The evolution of influenza and its changing roles in pet species.
• The role of coronaviruses in cat and dog respiratory disease.
• Latency - the feline herpesvirus carrier state.
• The role of evolution in the feline calcivirus carrier state.