Dog Flu Confirmed
 

I am posting this not to alarm people but to remind you to never let your little one down on the floor in a vets office or if you go to a shelter to not bring your shoes into the house that you wore. I would be somewhat concerned if I went to dog parks also.

Dog Flu Confirmed
US/Pacific

Dog Flu Confirmed In San Francisco Puppy

Three Cases OF Dog Flu Confirmed Nationally

(CBS 5) DAVIS, Calif. One of three cases of highly contagious dog flu
confirmed by a lab at the University of California, Davis, was found in
a San Francisco puppy, veterinary researchers announced Friday.

A lab at UC Davis detected canine influenza virus in dogs from three
states using a new test that employs DNA technology to provide rapid,
accurate diagnosis of the highly contagious disease.

Since November, scientists have tested more than 100 samples from dogs
suspected of having canine influenza. All of the samples turned out to
be negative until Feb. 23, when the first of the three positive samples
was diagnosed.

That first case involved a fatal outbreak of disease in a Colorado
animal shelter. It was followed by a case in San Francisco, in which an imported puppy became ill but recovered, as did its household-mates.

The third case involved a fatal outbreak in a Florida animal shelter.
"There is no reason for dog owners to panic over the confirmation of
these cases," said Christian Leutenegger of the UC Davis School of
Veterinary Medicine. "Any dog that exhibits upper respiratory symptoms,
such as a persistent cough or nasal discharge, should be routinely
examined by a local veterinarian."

Dog flu is an upper respiratory disease, first reported in January 2004
in racing greyhounds at a Florida racetrack. To date, antibodies to canine influenza virus have been detected in dogs in animal shelters, adoption groups, pet stores, boarding kennels and veterinary clinics in 19 states.

Dogs can also catch the virus from saliva or mucus on shared toys or
food dishes.

There is no evidence that canine influenza can be passed to humans,
according to UC Davis researchers. Since the dog flu virus just emerging, dogs have no natural immunity to it, researchers say. They add that all dogs exposed will become infected, and roughly 80 percent of infected dogs will develop symptoms of the illness. About 5 to 8 percent of all infected dogs will die, according to UC Davis researchers.

There is currently no vaccine available for canine influenza.

Alert................
 

Great information.........Thank you very much!!! I wouldn't let my babies on the floor at PetCo or PetSmart either for the same reason.......who knows what ALL those other furbabies have been into or what they might have?????

Germaphopic Mom Here!
 

I NEVER put my dogs on the floor of vet's office's, petsmart,ect...
But I have a 9 mo old female getting ready to go to shows. Eeek! :eek:
Thanks for the info!

Cindy - THANKS for the reminder..... :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Another thing is to ALWAYS be up to date on ALL SHOTS .... Don't slack on their vaccinations and Heartworm prevention.

Thanks for the information. I never really thought about that.

i agree.

Is the dog flu something new or is it just the season?

How scary. :eek: Makes me scared to take mine any where.
What about our meetups at the doggie park?

Flues, etc., are always something we need to be concerned about -- but how can this flu be considered "highly contagious" when since November they have only discovered a few cases in Colorado, San Francisco, and Florida? Geographically, these places (or animals) aren't even close to one another.

Just asking!!!!

Carol Jean

Thanks for the info! I never let Maddie on the floor at the vet. I figure there's all kinds of germs. Most people I notice have their dogs on a leash and they're walking all over the place. Better to be safe than sorry!!!

I personally think there is more cases than are being reported. Thanks for this posting. Our neighbor down the road from us lost three of there dogs the week before we lost Cassie in November ( I learned this after we lost her) but it was questionable if this could have been canine flu, our vet said it is air borne and is quite easy to carry on our clothing, the autopsies was done on all three of their dogs but it came back cause was inconclusive. There's was all year olds and had all shots. They ruled out many causes and could not come up with a conclusion. It is really scarey, we have always had the habit of taking our shoes off before coming in to our home and it is a rule at our home to do that. I also read where Giardia and other diseases can be picked up onto shoes and carried into the home. I see so many go into pets mart with tiny puppies that haven't had their shots and I quickly remind them that it is not adviseable until they have had all their shots. I hear Parvo is really about now. I question is this canine flu really so rare? It is scarey.

I totally agree with this statement. I believe that I had this running thru my house a while back. It was a total nightmare. Dogs coughing for no reason and nothing I could do would stop it. Poor guys. No sooner than I'd get one of the little ones "cured," another one of 'em would get it. We finally treated every single animal in my house for it at the same time for an extended amount of time and wiped it out that way. It took a long time and a lot of vet visits, which I think were making it worse (by reinfecting the ones I took to the vet), but no more flu or coughing around here. Thank heavens!

My vet told me that he has seen MANY cases of this uncurable coughing this year and went to a conference where they were discussing this very thing. Said that it was running its course across the US and it would be a horrible year for it. I just hope it doesn't come back!

More articles
 

Jumping Species

Canine flu was first discovered last year after an unusual illness began to appear at greyhound racetracks in Florida.

Cornell virologists, working with researchers at the CDC and the University of Florida, determined the sick greyhounds had a type of influenza ordinarily found only in horses.

This finding is the first scientific report of an equine influenza virus jumping the species barrier, and researchers are unsure how it occurred.

Virtually 100 percent of exposed dogs become infected, the researchers said. The virus is spread from dog to dog via coughing, contaminated objects, and even people.

Nearly 80 percent of dogs exposed to the virus contract only a mild form of the disease, which mimics kennel cough—a type of canine bronchitis that is rarely serious.

Canine influenza symptoms include low-grade fever, cough, and nasal discharge.

Nearly 20 percent of infected animals do not display any clinical signs but can still spread the disease.



http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/dogflu.asp

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/22/na...rssnyt&emc=rss

http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/...og_Flu.kr.html

Thanks for the info.

thanks so much for the flu information. I really had no idea about this until I read your post.