Deadly Canine Virus (Dog Flu) Worries Dog Owners
According to the experts”This is a newly emerging pathogen, and there is very little information to make predictions about it. And it appears that the fatality rate is between 1 and 10 percent.
The deadly canine flu that has been making domestic dogs and racing greyhounds ill in the US jumped from horses in a “very rare event”, say scientists.
Dogs have no natural immunity to the virus, virtually every animal exposed will be infected. About 80 percent of dogs that are infected with the virus will develop some symptoms, the symptoms are often mistaken for “kennel cough,” a common canine illness that is caused by the bordetella bronchiseptica bacteria.
Both diseases can cause coughing and gagging for up to three weeks, but dogs with canine flu may have fevers as high as 106 degrees and runny noses. A few will develop pneumonia, which is sometimes fatal. Antibiotics and fluid cut the pneumonia fatality rate. The virus is an H3N8 flu closely related to an equine flu strain. It is not related to a typical human flu or to the H5N1 avian flu that has killed about 100 people in Asia.
Experts said there are no known cases of the canine flu infecting humans. “The risk of that is low, but we are keeping an eye on it,” said Dr. Ruben Donis, chief of molecular genetics for the influenza branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is tracking the illness. Local veterinary health experts agree.
A spokesman for Washington State University’s school of veterinary medicine said information about the little-known virus is so limited that not one of the school’s experts has seen it.
“No one here has any experience with the virus at all,” Charlie Powell said. “There are no known cases in Washington.”
Still, reaction has been acute.
But with the approach of the human flu season and fears about bird flu in Asia there is much confusion among some dog-owners who have heard of the disease.
Dr. Sharon Hopkins, veterinarian for Public Health — Seattle & King County, said the lack of cases in the city, county and state indicates that people shouldn’t overreact. But, she added, it also means dog owners and vets should be aware it’s out there.
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October 2nd, 2005 at 10:14 am
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