Pet Health Care Gazette

Canine influenza has received a lot of publicity in recent months. However, there also seems to be a lot of misinformation circulating about this disease as well.

Canine influenza is caused by a virus known as the influenza virus. There are three groups of influenza viruses: type A, B, and C. The type of influenza virus which causes canine influenza is part of the type A group of influenza viruses.

Canine influenza is not considered to be contagious to people at the current time, but can be easily spread from one dog to another. It is spread through contact with body secretions, such as saliva. Contact with an infected dog directly or contact with bodily fluids from an infected dog can result in infection. Infected dogs may not necessarily be ill, but may still be able to pass the disease.

Symptoms include coughing, runny nose, and listlessness. Fever and rapid breathing are also common. The disease often resembles "kennel cough".

The disease is highly contagious, and symptoms may range from mild to severe. Though canine influenza can be fatal, the fatality rate appears to be fairly low, with most dogs recovering. Recovery may take as long as three weeks for some dogs.

Canine influenza is diagnosed with a blood test. In actuality, two blood tests done several weeks apart may be necessary to confirm the diagnosis.

Antibiotics may be necessary to treat the disease and prevent secondary pneumonia. This secondary pneumonia is the truly dangerous part of the disease, and is often the cause of death.

As of August, 2006, canine influenza had been confirmed in 22 states. First diagnosed in racing greyhounds, the disease has now spread to the general dog population. States where the virus has been positively identified include Florida, Delaware, Hawaii, New York, Connecticut, Colorado, and Wyoming, to name just a few.

At the current time, we do not have a vaccine available for canine influenza. It is possible that a vaccine may be developed at some point in the future, but mutation within the influenza virus itself may make vaccine production problematic.

Sources:
Center for Disease Control (CDC) Media Briefing on Canine Influenza:
http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/transcripts/t050926.htm

UF College of Veterinary Medicine Veterinary Advisory on the Canine Influenza
Virus:
http://www.vetmed.ufl.edu/pr/nw_story/CANINEFLUFACTSHEET.htm

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 13th, 2006 at 12:27 am and is filed under Dog Health-General Information, Dog Diseases, General Pet Care Information. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.