Infectious Diseases: A Comprehensive, Evidence-Based Update and Debunking Diagnostic Myths

Dr. Allerton graduated from the University of Bristol in 2004 and completed a residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Liege, Belgium. He is a diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Medicine and currently works at Willows Referral Service. Fergus is actively involved in veterinary antibiotic stewardship and contributed to the development of the PROTECT ME guidelines and ENOVAT recommendations for antibiotic use for surgical prophylaxis and canine acute diarrhea. He is the current editor of Companion and the BSAVA formulary, a member of the WSAVA Therapeutic Guidelines Group and clinical medicine lead for RCVS Knowledge.

Dr. Barrs is the Dean of the Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences and BOCHK Chair Professor of Veterinary Medicine at City University of Hong Kong. Prof. Barrs led the successful international accreditation of Hong Kong’s first and only veterinary degree program, established in collaboration with Cornell University. She is a registered specialist in feline medicine and an internationally renowned veterinary infectious diseases researcher who has significantly advanced the field of veterinary clinical mycology to improve diagnosis and treatment outcomes. 

Dr. Brostoff is an Assistant Professor of Immunology at the UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine. Her work as a viral immunologist centers on developing clinical tools, such as vaccines and diagnostic tests, to better understand how the immune system responds to both natural infection and vaccination. The Brostoff Lab is building a translational research program centered on feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), a highly fatal disease caused by feline coronavirus. 

Dr. Černá is an ACVIM and ECVIM diplomate in Small Animal Internal Medicine, RCVS Recognized Specialist in Feline Medicine and Diplomate of American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (Feline). She graduated from the University of Veterinary Sciences in the Czech Republic in 2018 where she also obtained her first PhD in 2023. After completing two internships in the UK, she completed Small Animal Internal Medicine Residency at Colorado State University, USA in 2023 and her second PhD focusing on feline infectious peritonitis in 2025. Dr. Černá gained the Membership of the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists in the Medicine of Cats. She was also awarded the ISFM Advanced Certificate in Feline Behaviour with Distinction. Dr. Černá has particular interest in feline medicine and is focusing her research on feline infectious diseases and especially FIP and is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Georgia. She is RCVS Recognized Specialist in Feline Medicine and EBVS® European Veterinary Specialist in Small Animal Internal Medicine.

Dr. Coggins is a Feline Veterinarian and Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Sydney School of Veterinary Science, The University of Sydney, focusing on feline infectious diseases. After more than a decade in feline‑only clinical practice, she transitioned into research, completing a PhD (2020–2024) on efficacy and pharmacokinetics of antiviral therapies for feline infectious peritonitis (FIP). Her current research encompasses FIP diagnosis and treatment, coronavirus host–pathogen interactions, viral and host genomics, investigating biodiversity of Australian feline coronaviruses and detection of antiviral resistance, Toxoplasma gondii epidemiology and coinfection biology, retroviral and caliciviral diseases. Sally is dedicated to improving outcomes for cats through translational infectious‑disease research while contributing comparative insights to the broader One Health scientific community.

Dr. Jessen is an associate professor and internal medicine (companion animal) specialist (ECVIM) with a special interest in urinary tract infections, use and effect of antimicrobial drugs and evidence based clinical guidelines. Dr. Jessen is currently directing the International Veterinary Evidence-based Guidelines Centre (IVEG) at the University of Copenhagen and serves on the guidelines committee of the International Society for Companion Animal Infectious Disease (ISCAID). Dr Jessen is Co-leading the 2026-2027 updating of the ISCAID Guidelines in urinary tract infections.

Dr. Lappin graduated from Oklahoma State University and then completed an internship, internal medicine residency, and PhD program in Parasitology at the University of Georgia. He is the Kenneth W. Smith Professor in Small Animal Clinical Veterinary Medicine at Colorado State University and is the director of the “Center for Companion Animal Studies”. He is the chair of the WSAVA One Health Committee. Dr. Lappin’s principal areas of interest are prevention of infectious diseases, the upper respiratory disease complex, infectious causes of fever, infectious causes of diarrhea, and zoonoses.  

Dr. Levy focuses on shelter animal health and welfare, feline infectious diseases, and humane community cat population management. She joined the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine in 1997. Current projects include the Lifetime FeLV Study, treatment of FIP in animal shelters, and creating access-to-care options for canine heartworm infection. She founded Operation Catnip in 1998, a nonprofit community cat trap‑neuter‑return program that has spayed, neutered, and vaccinated more than 100,000 cats while providing the college’s largest surgical training experience for veterinary students. Dr. Levy later co‑founded UF’s Shelter Medicine Program and the Million Cat Challenge, a national program that saved more than 5 million cats in shelters.

Jessica Pritchard VMD, MS, DACVIM (SAIM) is a Clinical Associate Professor in Small Animal Internal Medicine and the Associate Dean for Professional Programs at University of Wisconsin’s School of Veterinary Medicine. Her research interests include infectious disease especially Blastomyces and leptospirosis as well as vaccine hesitancy in pet owners. She spends her spare time with her husband, daughter, two naughty Labradors, and one formerly feral cat.

Krystle Reagan is an associate professor of small animal internal medicine and assistant director of research and innovation in the Center of Companion Animal Studies at Colorado State University. She obtained her veterinary degree and PhD in microbiology at Colorado State University.  Upon graduating, she completed a one year small animal rotating internship at VCA West Los Angeles Animal Hospital followed by a small animal internal medicine residency at UC Davis and became board certified in the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine. She then completed a fellowship in companion animal infectious diseases and is an ACVIM Fellow of Infectious Disease. Her areas of research include the development of novel infectious disease diagnostics and therapeutics and the use of artificial intelligence/machine learning in clinical decision making.

Dr. Stein is an assistant professor of small animal internal medicine at Louisiana State University. She graduated from the Royal Veterinary College 2018, before moving to Canada for a rotating internship and master's degree at the Atlantic Veterinary College. She completed her internal medicine residency at Tufts University in 2024. Her primary research interest is antimicrobial stewardship, with a particular focus on engagement of the whole veterinary care team.

Dr. Sykes is a Professor at the University of California, Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine and a board-certified dog and cat internal medicine specialist with a special interest in infectious diseases. Her research interests are focused on infectious diseases of dogs and cats of public health significance; she has published over 150 peer-reviewed scientific publications and is the editor of several textbooks on canine and feline infectious diseases. She founded the International Society for Companion Animal Infectious Diseases (ISCAID) in 2006 and has held several leadership roles in the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM), including President and Board Chair of the ACVIM as a whole. She was the first Founding Fellow of the ACVIM for establishment of fellowship training in small animal infectious diseases. She is also the Director of the UC Davis Center for Continuing Professional Education, speaks internationally on infectious diseases and post-graduate veterinary specialty education, and is the “Ask A Vet” columnist for the Washington Post.