Respiratory tract disease can be associated with primary or secondary bacterial infections in dogs and cats and is a common reason for use and potential misuse, improper use, and overuse of antimicrobials. There is a lack of comprehensive treatment guidelines such as those that are available for human medicine. Accordingly, the International Society for Companion Animal Infectious Diseases convened a Working Group of clinical microbiologists, pharmacologists, and internists to share experiences, examine scientific data, review clinical trials, and develop these guidelines to assist veterinarians in making antimicrobial treatment choices for use in the management of bacterial respiratory diseases in dogs and cats.

The human-animal bond has been a fundamental feature of mankind's history for millennia. The first, and strongest of these, man's relationship with the dog, is believed to pre-date even agriculture, going back as far as 30,000 years. It remains at least as powerful today. Fed by the changing nature of the interactions between people and their dogs worldwide and the increasing tendency towards close domesticity, the health of dogs has never played a more important role in family life. Thanks to developments in scientific understanding and diagnostic techniques, as well as changing priorities of pet owners, veterinarians are now able, and indeed expected, to play a fundamental role in the prevention and treatment of canine disease, including canine vector-borne diseases (CVBDs). The CVBDs represent a varied and complex group of diseases, including anaplasmosis, babesiosis, bartonellosis, borreliosis, dirofilariosis, ehrlichiosis, leishmaniosis, rickettsiosis and thelaziosis, with new syndromes being uncovered every year. Many of these diseases can cause serious, even life-threatening clinical conditions in dogs, with a number having zoonotic potential, affecting the human population. Today, CVBDs pose a growing global threat as they continue their spread far from their traditional geographical and temporal restraints as a result of changes in both climatic conditions and pet dog travel patterns, exposing new populations to previously unknown infectious agents and posing unprecedented challenges to veterinarians. In response to this growing threat, the CVBD World Forum, a multidisciplinary group of experts in CVBDs from around the world which meets on an annual basis, gathered in Nice (France) in 2011 to share the latest research on CVBDs and discuss the best approaches to managing these diseases around the world. As a result of these discussions, we, the members of the CVBD Forum have developed the following recommendations to veterinarians for the management of CVBDs.

There are multiple vector-borne diseases in cats, the most prominent being those transmitted by mosquitos, sand flies, fleas, and ticks. Many of the agents vectored by fleas or ticks have been grown or amplified from blood or have induced antibodies in the serum of normal cats or those with clinical signs like fever and will be the focus of this manuscript. As high as 80% of fleas collected from cats contain at least one organism that could induce illness in cats or people. Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Bartonella spp., Borrelia spp., Ehrlichia spp., hemoplasmas, and Rickettsia spp. infect cats and can be associated with clinical illness. Anaplasma phagocytophilum and B. burgdorferi are transmitted by Ixodes spp., Ehrlichia spp. and A. platys are transmitted by Rhipicephalus sanguineus. Fleas vector Bartonella spp., hemoplasmas, and R. felis. Recently, R. typhus was detected in cats in Spain. Lethargy and fever are common findings in cats with flea and tick borne diseases. Hemoplasmas are associated with hemolytic anemia. Moderate thrombocytopenia is associated with the tick-vectored agents. Polymerase chain reaction assays performed on blood collected in the acute phase of infection can be used to prove presence of the organisms. Doxycycline at 5 mg/kg, PO, twice daily or 10 mg/kg, PO, daily can be effective for resolving the clinical signs. If doxycycline is ineffective or not tolerated, fluoroquinolones can be effective for treatment of clinical illness associated with Bartonella spp., hemoplasmas, and Rickettsia spp. Use of flea and tick control products is effective for blocking transmission of many of the agents.

The objective of this study was to determine whether intranasal administration of a commercially available FVRCP vaccine to kittens lessened clinical signs and feline herpesvirus 1 (FHV-1) viral shedding when compared to unvaccinated control kittens after FHV-1 challenge. Three groups of 10 unvaccinated kittens were administered one dose of vaccine 6 days (group 1), 4 days (group 2), or 2 days (group 3) before challenge, respectively. One group was maintained as unvaccinated controls (group 4). FHV-1 challenge was then induced and the kittens were observed for 14 days. When the grouped vaccinated kitten results (groups 1–3) were compared to group 4 results, clinical scores following challenge were significantly lower ( P<0.05) and significantly lower body temperatures ( P<0.05) were detected on days 0, 5 and 9 post-challenge. When evaluated by individual group, group 1 and group 2 kittens had significantly lower clinical scores ( P<0.05) than group 4 kittens post-challenge. In addition, FHV-1 shedding was lower in group 1 kittens when compared to group 4 kittens on day 6 after challenge ( P<0.05). Administration of this vaccine within several days prior to exposure lessened clinical signs of disease and FHV-1 shedding compared to unvaccinated kittens.