Active canine influenza cases are still known to be present in two regions in Ontario.

Muskoka

• A small number of dogs from the initial cluster of cases in the Orillia/Bracebridge/Gravenhurst region are still shedding the virus, as expected given this virus can be shed by some dogs for a few weeks. The dogs that made up the earlier cases should be done shedding soon, hopefully decreasing the pool of infected (and infectious) dogs.
• Surveillance is still underway to detect new clusters.
• At this point, we have not seen rapid expansion since the problem was first identified and containment measures were implemented. We would like to continue to test dogs in this area that develop signs consistent with influenza (e.g. cough, runny eyes, runny nose). This is particularly true for dogs with known contact with confirmed influenza cases, but testing of any dogs with flu-like disease is desirable to detect new clusters and make sure we know the extent of the problem.

Northumberland County

• Multiple cases are present in this area, all currently linked to one source.
• How H3N2 influenza got to this region is still being explored, and while I have some ideas, we do not yet know for sure. It may be indirectly linked to the Muskoka cluster, but this has not yet been confirmed.
• As in Muskoka, testing of contacts of dogs with influenza, as well as other dogs in the area with flu-like disease is underway.  Owners of local dogs that develop these signs should contact their vet to discuss testing, as we want to determine the extent of the problem and try to contain it.

Grimsby/Niagara

• No positives were identified in our round of testing Friday. No known active cases are present in the region at the moment.
• It is strongly suspected that canine influenza was the cause of disease in a couple of clusters of dogs; however, sampling was late enough that we might have missed active shedding. While that complicates our investigation of the spread, it’s good news in that we don’t have known infectious dogs in the area.
• Hopefully the small clusters of disease that were likely flu have been contained and this area is now flu-free. However, as with the other regions, we want to continue to do some testing in case there are still cases in the area.

Other areas of Ontario

• We are testing a smaller number of dogs from other areas, with no known link to the affected regions. This is low yield because we don’t expect influenza to be present (but I didn’t expect it to be present in the Muskoka group either). This testing will be continued in the short term to try to make sure we do not have other clusters (associated or not).