Haemorrhagic fever and high mortality associated with feline calicivirus (FCV) infection

Feline calicivirus (FCV) is one of the cat flu viruses which most commonly causes signs of upper respiratory tract

disease such as sneezing, nasal discharge, mouth ulceration and conjunctivitis. Several outbreaks of severe disease associated with FCV have recently been reported in the USA. In these outbreaks, swelling of the head and paws was noted as well as other signs including flu signs, jaundice and bleeding from the nose and the bowel. Up to half of the affected cats died as a result of this infection which was caused by a particularly severe strain of FCV. Both adult cats and kittens were affected by this infection and many of the cats were vaccinated for FCV suggesting that the vaccines for this disease are not completely protective for this strain. So far, no confirmed reports of similar outbreaks have been seen outside the USA although one unconfirmed report suggested that this strain may also exist in the UK.

The Veterinary Record, August 2002