Feline ocular and respiratory infections: a retrospective analysis of clinical cases submitted to Georgia Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratories (2012-2022).

Objectives: The objective of this study was to retrospectively assess the pathogens associated with feline ocular and respiratory diseases in routine diagnostic samples submitted to Georgia Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratories. Furthermore, pathogens detected by the respiratory PCR panel in the upper vs lower respiratory tract were compared (specimen separation at pharynx).

Methods: Test records from feline ocular and respiratory PCR panels were collected from 2012 to 2022. While the ocular panel targets feline herpesvirus-1 (FHV), feline calicivirus (FCV) and , the respiratory panel covers FHV, FCV, , species, and influenza A virus.

Results: In total, 120 and 453 submissions were made for the ocular and respiratory panels, with positivity rates of 49.2% (59/120) and 69.3% (314/453), respectively. Based on the available signalment, cats aged younger than 3 years made up 59.3% (32/54) and 47.3% (130/275) of positive cases, respectively. The top two findings by ocular and respiratory panels were single detection of FCV (28.8%, 17/59), FHV (25.4%, 15/59) and species (36.9%, 116/314), co-detection of FCV +  species (20.4%, 64/314), respectively. The most common detection from samples of upper vs lower respiratory tract was species (39.6%, 97/245) and FCV +  species (25%, 10/40).

Relevance And Novel Information: FCV and FHV were the most frequent detections by the ocular panel, with species and FCV +  species being the most frequent detections by the respiratory panel. Incorporating FCV and FHV in the vaccination regimen could help reduce the cases of feline ocular and respiratory diseases, especially for cats aged younger than 3 years. Veterinarians should consider species when dealing with feline respiratory infections.