Feline Calicivirus: Winn Feline Foundation

Feline calicivirus is a highly contagious pathogen responsible for about 45% of upper respiratory tract disease in cats. However, there are strains of calicivirus that appear to produce widely varying clinical signs, including arthritis, gingivitis, skin disease and lower urinary tract disease. In recent years, sporadic outbreaks of hypervirulent strains of feline calicivirus in the United States and the UK have caused alarm and triggered a new wave of research into this old feline infectious disease. This new disease has caused high mortality in the affected animals and has been termed virulent systemic feline calicivirus disease. Results of research have confirmed that each virulent calicivirus outbreak has been caused by a new strain that has arisen independently.

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