Home » News » New Vaccine Now Available to Prevent Deadly Cat Disease

News

New Vaccine Now Available to Prevent Deadly Cat Disease

April 26, 2007, 12:0AM MT

By Jennifer S Hayes

The calicivirus has mutated, but now there’s a way to prevent it.

The calicivirus has mutated, but now there’s a way to prevent it.

By Jennifer Hayes, Best Friends Network

Although many people may not be familiar with the disease itself, the calicivirus is fairly common and its prevention has been a part of the normal FVRCP vaccination given to cats annually. However, a new strain of this virus called the VS-FCV (Virulent Systemic Feline Calicivirus) was discovered less than a decade ago, but unlike its original form of a standard upper respiratory infection, this strain is often fatal.

The VS-FCV disease has previously been thought to be rare, occurring only occasionally. However, Dr. Gary Norsworthy, DVM, Diplomate ABVP (Feline Specialty), has said that at his many speaking engagements around the United States and Canada, when he discusses the VS-FCV, invariably a vet comes up to him after the lecture to state that he or she has witnessed cats with the symptoms, but was just not able put a name to the disease. Dr. Norsworthy therefore believes this strain to be far more common than previously thought, just not properly diagnosed, due to lack of knowledge and awareness.

The symptoms of this new strain include not only sores on the tongue, fever, sneezing, and nasal discharge from the original strain, but also swelling under the chin or leg joints. Hair loss then follows on the swollen areas and open sores then begin to appear as well. Cats can exhibit fevers in excess of 105 degrees F, become jaundiced, and internal organs, such as the liver and pancreas, may even begin to become affected. This new mutated virus is very dangerous and has proven lethal to approximately 60% of adult cats that contract it and 15% of kittens. Those that do recover, continue to shed the virus (potentially infecting other cats) for about 4 months after recuperation.

However, a new vaccine has come to market that protects cats from VS-FCV, in addition to those diseases prevented by the FVRCP; feline rhinotracheitis, panleukemia, and the common calicivirus. However, a booster shot is needed to be administered to the cat 3-4 weeks following the initial shot for the greatest protection. Thereafter, only one annual vaccination will be necessary. As with all vaccinations, none are 100% effective; however, in vaccine studies, 75% of cats exposed to the virus had complete protection and the remaining 25% showed minor symptoms for a day and subsequently recovered.

Obviously cats that are allowed to roam outdoors should be protected against this new virus strain, but indoor cats should be as well. Contamination can potentially occur with exposure to any other cats; that includes through a window screen or even at your veterinarian’s office for its annual exam. The virus spreads easily and can even be transmitted by people via clothing or household objects. Many regular disinfectants do not destroy it; only a bleach mixture (bleach to water with a 1:32 ratio) will kill the virus, which can live up to four weeks in the environment.

What You Can Do:
If you have cats, it is highly recommended that you speak with your own veterinarian to discuss the VS-FCV and this new vaccine. You may just be saving your cat’s life!

For more information about VS-FCV and this new vaccine, see:
• Dr. Norsworthy’s article from the January issue of Cat Fancy Magazine
• Dr. Norsworthy’s New Vaccine Handout, attachment on Resources tab
• ShelterMedicine.com

Sources: Dr. Gary Norsworthy, Cat Fancy Magazine, and Dr. Gary Norsworthy’s New Vaccine Handout

Photo credit: healthy cat photo taken by Jennifer Hayes, the photo showing swelling and open sores under the chin reprinted with permission by Dr. Norsworthy

A special thank you to Dr. Gary Norsworthy of the Alamo Feline Health Center in San Antonio, for his assistance with this story.

Comments

Posted April 29, 2007, 8:1PM by Sentient

I believe this is a scam by Fort Dodge (via a vet working under their thumb through a big-time advertising company that has questionable ethical practices).

I have submitted it to snopes.com so they can research it further, as they have better researchers than myself on their staff. I can find no studies or evidence online to back up these statements of a wide-spread new Calici outbreak requiring immediate vaccination with the new vaccine. All the "many" outbreaks I've seen posted are the word of mouth statements by one Dr. Norsworthy - a vet with current articles online that state blatantly FALSE facts with regards to current vaccination options and protocols. The only reference to calici outbreaks that matches the descriptions are on these webpages, which are several YEARS past now (the one outbreak I've seen documented by trusted sources happened in a very confined area in CA in 2002):
http://www.sheltermedicine.com/portal/is_vs_fcv.shtml
http://www.sheltermedicine.com/portal/journals.php
http://www.goodnewsforpets.com/Articles.asp?ID=695
http://www.dvmvac.org/swiftaction.asp
http://www.patentdebate.com/PATAPP/20040259225 (vaccine seems to have been at least partly patented in 2004 by UC Davis researchers)

I first heard of this in an email circulating, stating that an article was posted in the Claremont Sun newspaper by a Dr. Meakin, in Ohio. His emergency service told me over the phone that he does occasionally post articles to this paper, and that recently a vet did come to their clinic and give a presentation on this topic. I did find the name of the vet who is traveling the country giving presentations about this new strain of calici, Dr. Norsworthy, a Texas vet.

Not very surprisingly to me, when I found a link explaining Dr. Norsworthy's work and presentations, the page for "more info" is no longer there:
http://www.goodnewsforpets.com/Articles.asp?ID=699
http://www.dvmvac.org/drnorsworthy.htm

Doing more digging, I did find this on the same website, and if you just READ the answers this "vet" gives to the questions you can quickly conclude that one of two things are going on here:
1. This vet doesn't know about the most basic aspects of veterinary care and vaccination options, like INTRA-NASAL vaccines.
2. This is SO outdated, it was written in Pre-Intra-Nasal vaccine days, and thus makes it so medically outdated as to be completely useless in modern medicine circles, thus completely removing any credibility to this rumor:
http://www.dvmvac.org/norsworthy_calicivirus.asp

Also of note, this entire website (dvmvac.org) is a VERY PRO-VACCINE website, even going so far as to deny the proven facts about VAS and denouncing the new APPROVED feline vaccination guidelines set forth by the Vaccine Associated Sarcoma Task Force and the American Association of Feline Practitioners of every 3 years for many vaccines!

This one particular vet seems to be "in the pocket" of the pro-vaccination people, namely, the vaccine manufacturers. In fact the website dvmvac.org, is run by a company that blatantly, on their main website proudly professes their specialty, making people believe what they need to believe to get the client's message across:

" Germinder

Posted April 30, 2007, 4:51PM by lisaall4animals

I was afraid I was being paranoid when the first I heard about this disease was in an announcement for the vaccine.

Thanks for all the info. I will say that I found a couple references to it being more widespread.
http://www.animalsheltering.org/resource_library/magazine_articles/may_jun_2004/virulent_systemic_feline_calicivirus.html

Saying "The study’s investigators described six outbreaks of FCV disease in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Tennessee, and Nevada, noting several similarities to the west Los Angeles cases."

And another page (darn, I can't find the link now) said it had been reported in the UK as well.

So, I'm not sure what to make of this announcement and hope to discuss it with a vet or two.

Posted September 06, 2007, 11:56AM by drkyla

I am a vet in Canada. A local shelter lost about 200 cats last year to a calici virus outbreak. May cats are being vaccinated against this disease today. The vax just became available in Canada.

I have also heard of many more outbreaks of VS Calici. This is not a reportable disease (meaning you don't have to tell anyone when there is a case) and many shelters, like the one here, don't want publicity when they have a deadly outbreak.

I've been a vet for 20 years, if I had seen a VS Calici, I would not have know what it was, because it is a new mutation to a severely virulent strain.

As for your conspiracy theories, Dr Norsworthy is one of the most respected veterinarians in practice. He literally wrote the textbook on Feline Medicine. He is a man of extreme integrity and regularly challenges conventional wisdom publicly when it doesn't make sense. Anything he does is for the benefit of the patient. He is not for sale.

If you polled veterinarians, you'd very likely find that Dr Jean Dodds is considered highly controversial and not an adherent to the scientific method.

Personally, I would be far more suspect of her than of Dr Norsworthy.

I know people like to think vets are out to rip you off. If we were, wouldn't it make sense to let more animals get gravely ill? There's far more money in intensive care than in administering vaccines and keeping cats healthy.

Posted April 26, 2007, 1:26PM by michelle

This is wonderful news for the kitties. Thanks Jennifer.