Outbreaks of highly virulent FCV disease are increasingly common. Strains causing such outbreaks have been genetically distinct from one another but caused similar disease signs and were resistant to vaccination. All cats with suspicious signs (including upper respiratory tract infection) should be handled with strict hygienic precautions. Sodium hypochlorite solution should be used for disinfection following suspected contamination. All exposed cats should be isolated until negative viral status is confirmed. Chronic viral shedding is possible but may not be clinically important. This and similar outbreaks have been described as being caused by hemorrhagic fever-like caliciviruses, but hemorrhage is uncommonly reported. Virulent systemic FCV infection is suggested as an alternative description.

Vaccination is a medical procedure, and the decision to vaccinate should be based on a risk-based assessment for each cat and each vaccine.

Results indicated that cats admitted to an animal shelter were likely to lose weight while in the shelter and likely to develop URI, and that cats that had high stress scores were more likely to develop URI.

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An outbreak of acute, fatal, hemorrhagic pneumonia was observed in more than 1,000 mixed breed dogs in a single animal shelter. The Department of Anatomic Pathology at the University of California at Davis School of Veterinary Medicine performed necropsies on dogs that were found moribund in acute respiratory distress or found dead with evidence of nasal bleeding. All dogs had hemothorax and an acute, fibrinosuppurative pneumonia. Large numbers of gram-positive cocci were observed within the lungs of all dogs and within septic thromboemboli of remote organs in about 50% of cases. Bacterial cultures from the dogs and their environment revealed widespread beta-hemolytic Streptococus equi subspecies zooepidemicus (Lancefield Group C). Extensive diagnostic testing failed to reveal the consistent presence of copathogens in individual cases. The clinical, epidemiologic, molecular biologic, and pathologic data indicate that a single clone of S. zooepidemicus was the cause of an acutely fatal respiratory infection in these dogs.

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Abstract. Infection with feline calicivirus (FCV) is a common cause of upper respiratory and oral disease in cats. FCV infection is rarely fatal, however, virulent, systemic strains of FCV (VS-FCV) that cause alopecia, cutaneous ulcers, subcutaneous edema, and high mortality in affected cats have recently been described. Seven cats with natural VS-FCV infection all had subcutaneous edema and ulceration of the oral cavity, with variable ulceration of the pinnae, pawpads, nares, and skin. Other lesions that were present in some affected cats included bronchointerstitial pneumonia, and pancreatic, hepatic, and splenic necrosis. Viral antigen was present within endothelial and epithelial cells in affected tissues as determined by immunohistochemical staining with a monoclonal antibody to FCV. Mature intranuclear and intracytoplasmic virions in necrotic epithelial cells were identified by transmission electron microscopy. VS-FCV infection causes epithelial cell cytolysis and systemic vascular compromise in susceptible cats, leading to cutaneous ulceration, severe edema, and high mortality.Key words: Cats; dermatosis; edema; electron microscopy; feline calicivirus; immunohistochemistry; pancreatitis; pneumonia.Caliciviruses are nonenveloped, positive-sense, and single-stranded RNA viruses and include RVHDV, European brown hare syndrome virus (EBHV), and vesicular exanthema of swine viruses. Feline calicivirus (FCV) is a common pathogen of cats. Multiple strains of FCV exist and infection can cause a variety of manifestations, including fever, rhinitis, pneumonia, and oral ulcers. 1,4,10 Although morbidity is high, mortality is usually low except in kittens as a consequence of pneumonia. In 1998 an outbreak of severe disease in cats caused by an unusually virulent strain of FCV was described and reproduced in SPF cats. 7 At least six different outbreaks of similar disease characterized by high mortality have since been recognized in the United States, but the lesions have not previously been described in detail. 5 .In contrast to the relatively mild symptoms that characterize infection of cats with the usual field strains of FCV, infection with virulent systemic FCV (VS-FCV) is devastating, with mortality rates ranging between 33% and 60%. 5 Adult cats that were previously vaccinated against calicivirus infection were prominently affected in these outbreaks, and adult cats were at higher risk for severe disease and death as compared with kittens. In addition to ulceration and nasal or ocular discharge, signs characteristic of VS-FCV infection include profound fever, anorexia, marked subcutaneous edema (especially of the limbs and face), icterus, alopecia, crusting, and ulceration of the nose, lips, pinnae, and feet. The basis of enhanced pathogenicity of VS-FCV is not known. The gross and histologic lesions, antigen distribution, and ultrastructural characteristics of fatal VS-FCV infection in seven cats are described. Materials and Methods Animals and case inclusion criteriaSeven cats from two VS-FCV outbreaks are inc...

Abstract. Three independent, fatal outbreaks of Streptococcus canis infection occurred in a 2-year period in shelter cats. The outbreaks occurred in Northern California (Yolo County), Southern California (Kern County), and North Carolina (Guilford County). An estimation of the affected population is .150 cats among 3 affected shelters, with a mortality rate of up to 30%. Among 20 cats submitted for necropsy there were 2 distinct pathologic presentations. The first (shelters 1 and 2) was skin ulceration and chronic respiratory infection that progressed, in some cats, to necrotizing sinusitis and meningitis. The second (shelter 3) was rapid progression from necrotizing fasciitis with skin ulceration to toxic shock-like syndrome, sepsis, and death. S canis was the sole pathogen identified in most cases. Whether hypervirulent S canis strains exist is unknown; there is little understanding of how these bacteria cause invasive disease in cats.