Feline viral respiratory disease: a review with particular reference to its epizootiology and control

The two major causes of feline viral respiratory disease are feline viral rhinotracheitis virus and feline calicivirus. This paper reviews the present state of knowledge concerning these viral agents, the clinical syndromes they produce, their maintenance in the cat population including recent developments in the understanding of their carrier states, and finally the methods by which they spread. The second part of the paper attempts to correlate this information in a section which deals with the practical problems of prevention and control; management factors pertinent to the control of respiratory disease and problems of vaccine development and vaccine use are discussed. A short section on treatment is included.