Role of infectious agents in respiratory disease

There is no question that disease prevention, rather than treatment, represents the single most significant advancement in the management of infectious diseases in companion animals. In particular, the introduction of sensitive, rapid in-clinic diagnostic test kits, new vaccines, and implementation of strict vaccination protocols has dramatically decreased the morbidity and mortality associated with viral infections in cats. However, neither the agents nor the disease they cause will be eradicated through the use of even the most comprehensive testing and vaccination programs alone. In 1908, W. T. Sedgwick wrote in his leading public health textbook that "the absence of dirt is not merely an esthetic adornment." Comments such as this, published by noted public health authorities at the turn of the century, marked the beginning of the health revolution in the United States. As the nineteenth century ended, mortality rates from infectious diseases among infants and young adults dramatically and abruptly plunged. The fact that personal hygiene was the hero of this revolution illustrates the importance of the fundamental rules of cleanliness in disease prevention that still apply today. Although basic to infection control, ignoring even the simplest concepts of cleanliness and hygiene in the environment of the multiple cat household can lead to diastrous consequences.