2015 ACVIM Forum Research Abstract Program

The identification of NetF as a novel toxin strongly associated with canine hemorrhagic gastroenteritis and with necrotizing enteritis in neonatal foals opens the way to improving diagnosis, treatment and control of these important and serious diseases. A previous study showed that >50% of cats housed in an animal shelter acquired feline herpesvirus-1 (FHV-1) infection within 7 days of entry. Thus, use of vaccines to induce rapid protection against FHV-1 is indicated. In a previous study, cats administered one SQ dose of an inactivated FHV-1, feline calicivirus (FCV), and panleukopenia virus (FPV) vaccine (FVRCP) developed protective antibody titers against FHV-1 significantly faster than cats administered a modified live FVRCP vaccine (MLV). However, a FHV-1 challenge was not performed. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of one dose of an inactivated FVRCP vaccine or one dose of a MLV FVRCP vaccine on the clinical signs of FHV-1 in SPF kittens challenged with FHV-1 7 days after vaccination.