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.