Surveillance of upper respiratory tract disease in owned cats in Australia, 2009-2012

Reported cases of feline upper respiratory tract disease (URTD) - presumptively diagnosed as feline herpesvirus (FHV) or feline calicivirus (FCV) - throughout Australia (2010-2012) were obtained from Disease WatchDog, a companion animal disease surveillance system. This surveillance system is based on voluntary reporting of cases by veterinarians, using a web-based program. Animal factors, location and vaccination information are also reported. Cases reported were mapped and seasonal patterns were described. A total of 131 FHV cases and 120 FCV cases were reported. Excluding euthanasia, case fatality rates were 1.12% and 1.28%, respectively. The largest proportion of cases was reported in winter. Young cats (<= 2 years), intact cats, unvaccinated cats and (for FHV) male cats appeared to be over-represented in the cases reported. The distributions of cases reported in this surveillance system provide information to aid the diagnosis of infectious feline URTD and to develop client educational programs. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.