What we know about the mysterious respiratory diseases in dogs
A mysterious respiratory disease that is making dogs sick continues to spread across the United States as veterinarians try to determine its causes and the best methods to treat it.
The symptoms resemble kennel cough, an upper respiratory infection, but can last much longer and in some cases be fatal, according to veterinarians.
This is what we know:
What are the symptoms?
The infected dogs develop cough, fever, lethargy and occasionally loss of appetite. While infected, some dogs will develop pneumonia. Vets have reported seeing blue and purple gums in those cases.
Dogs with kennel cough may exhibit some of these symptoms, such as coughing, loss of appetite, fever and lethargy. If it is kennel cough, symptoms usually go away within one to three weeks. However, with the latest respiratory diseases, veterinarians report that dogs can have symptoms for six weeks or more.
Where was this reported?
The disease has been found in at least seven states: Colorado, Massachusetts, Oregon, Rhode Island, Illinois, Maryland and Wyoming.
It is unclear how many dogs in total are infected because there is no official count of cases.
The cause is not clear.
It is unclear what causes the disease. Researchers are still conducting tests to learn more about the disease.
There is some disagreement as to whether the disease is caused by a virus or bacteria.
Dr. David Needle, a senior veterinary pathologist at the University of New Hampshire’s New Hampshire Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, said he believed the disease was caused by bacteria based on what he had seen in his environment.
Some veterinarians in Oregon hypothesize that it could be viral because the dogs they have treated have not responded to antibiotics.
“I’m open to the possibility that this is the case, and I’m open to the possibility that it’s something we don’t even think about,” said Dr. Kurt Williams, director of the Oregon Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at the Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine of Oregon State University. .
Researchers strongly agree that dogs are most likely to develop the disease if they have been around other dogs.
Dr. Lindsey Ganzer, a veterinarian and director of the North Springs Veterinary Referral Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, said all the dogs she had treated for the disease had spent time in places with high concentrations of dogs, such as boarding houses. facilities, dog shelters or dog parks.
Dr. Ganzer said she feared veterinarians would see an increase in cases as more owners boarded their dogs or sent them to daycare during the holidays.
“We really hope that just by getting the word out, people will be less likely to do that,” she said. “The veterinary community as a whole is a little scared.”
What should owners do?
Don’t panic and isolate your dog if it shows symptoms.
Dr. Stephen Kochis, the chief medical officer of the Oregon Humane Society, said he didn’t want people to worry about the new disease because the overall number of dogs with respiratory disease had not increased. If dogs show symptoms, there are steps owners can take to be proactive, he said.
“We’ve all been through Covid,” he said. “I would say that if your dog is showing signs of respiratory illness, isolate him at home, call your vet and get him seen.”