V&D+++ When dog and cat guts go viral: An update

Presented by Alan Radford
Acute gastrointestinal (GI) disease remains one of the most common presentations to veterinary practice. In most cases, even when quite explosive, it is self-limiting. However, in severe cases it can prove fatal without rigorous and mostly symptomatic therapy. Differentiating these two extremes can be quite a challenge but is important, particularly as we seek to minimise unnecessary antimicrobial use. Clearly not all cases of GI disease have viral aetiologies; some bacterial species can also play a role and may be zoonotic. But isolation of these same bacteria is quite common in clinically normal animals so interpreting positive tests can be challenging. As an example, in our study of dogs with diarrhoea, campylobacter was more commonly isolated in controls .
Here we will briefly review the major pathogens associated with GI disease in dogs and cats, highlighting especially those things that may have changed more recently.
Presented at BVA Live 2026 in Clinical Theatre 3 on 11 June 2026, from 15:35 to 16:25.