By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs,VaccinationCanine influenza is (once again) causing big problems in some parts of the western US. Following reports of influenza outbreaks in animal shelters in Oakland, California, it’s apparent that it has spread within California shelters and to an Oregon shelter. It is also affecting pet dogs in various cities in California. It’s not surprising that these… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs,Other diseasesI’m once again prepared to call Ontario (and Canada) canine influenza-free… for now, at least. The latest cluster, associated with another importation of the virus from China, seems to have been contained. The last new positive case was identified October 30, with the likely date of exposure being October 23. We are now beyond the… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsI’ve been behind on posts so here’s a quick update: things seem to be going well in the latest Canadian H3N2 canine influenza outbreak. Here’s the rundown: After eradicating the last outbreak in the spring, cases were identified again in mid-October, associated with more importation of dogs from Asia. The last new positive dog was… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsThings have been quiet over the past few days. That’s good news (but always makes me a bit antsy, because I want to be sure it’s because there are no new cases vs we’re just not finding them). Documented infections have been confined to one region, with the exception of a dog that travelled out… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsAs expected, a few more cases have been identified in the most recent cluster of canine influenza virus (CIV) identified in Ontario. So far, there are about 20 confirmed or suspected cases. To date, we’re still only finding cases that have a link to another infected dog or facility. That’s good news. If we start… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsCanine influenza virus (CIV) has been re-introduced to Ontario, again in the Muskoka region. Variant typing for the latest case should be available shortly, but in all likelihood this is once again H3N2 CIV. More details will follow; however, dog owners and veterinarians in this region should be aware of the return of this highly… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsI’ve been holding off saying “it’s gone” but based on all the information we have at the moment, there’s no evidence of ongoing canine flu activity in Canada, at least for now. No new cases have been identified in a few weeks and we are now beyond the 28-day recommended quarantine period for all of… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsWindsor-Essex: Things have been quiet there for a while and this seems to be a nice success story. The two flu clusters that were active in January were contained and nothing new has been seen. Muskoka: Good progress has been made. Few new cases have been identified over the past two weeks. One problematic aspect… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsActive 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… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs,VaccinationCanine influenza continues to cause problems in Ontario. The central Ontario (Bracebridge, Gravenhurst, Orillia) clusters continue to be monitored, with new positives that were expected based on known contact with infected dogs. Whether these clusters have been contained (or are containable) remains to be seen. Testing and contact tracing continues. As mentioned previously, there was… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsWhile we had hoped that control of the two recent clusters of H3N2 canine influenza in Windsor-Essex, Ontario, meant that the province was again free of that virus, another cluster of infections has been identified, this time in Orillia, Ontario. Investigation is ongoing so the number of infected dogs is currently unclear, but as always,… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsNow that canine flu has been identified in Ontario, I’ve been inundated with questions, including “what is the risk to people?” It’s often tough getting the right message across, since there are some potential human health risks, but they are very low. The fact that we can’t say “it’s not a concern” sometimes gets taken… Continue Reading
By Maureen Anderson on Posted in Dogs,Other diseasesThere were several more reports over the weekend in follow up to the canine influenza outbreak at dog shows in Florida early last week. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, associated cases were then found in North Carolina, and have now been reported in 11 states, no doubt from dogs that were at the shows in Florida… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,Dogs,VaccinationThe recent H3N2 canine flu outbreak centred around dog shows in Florida has led to the usual round of questions and concerns. How many dogs have been affected? Hard to say. Cases aren’t carefully tracked and it is reasonable to assume that the majority of dogs that developed influenza (especially mild disease) were never diagnosed.… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,Dogs,Other diseasesThe latest set of clinical treatment guidelines from the International Society for Companion Animal Infectious Diseases have been published in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Lappin et al 2017): Antimicrobial Use Guidelines for Treatment of Respiratory Tract Disease in Dogs and Cats: Antimicrobial Guidelines Working Group of the International Society for Companion Animal Infectious… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsDisease status Things seem to be slowing down. Whether that’s because of a true decrease in disease or “reporting fatigue” is a good question. However, I’m pretty certain that the outbreak is burning itself out in the areas that were most affected. Sporadic reports of sick dogs are still coming in from a few areas, but… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsHere’s a quick update about what we know… which really isn’t a lot more than yesterday. Case reports continue to roll in from different areas. I suspect the outbreak is burning itself out in Orangeville, but a few new cases are still being reported there. A few other clusters seem to be ongoing in different towns such… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsAs I’ve written about a couple times over the past few days, we seem to have increased canine respiratory disease activity in a few areas of Ontario. The first reports came from Orangeville (incidentally, the town where I worked as a veterinarian in general practice when I first graduated), based on information provided by an astute… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs,VaccinationIf you’re one of the many (many) people asking about what to do in the midst of a canine respiratory disease outbreak, or someone who just wants to know what to do to reduce everyday risk of CIRDC, here are some basic pointers: The microbes that cause respiratory disease in dogs are primarily spread by… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsInfectious respiratory disease isn’t exactly rare in dogs. A variety of viruses, bacteria and Mycoplasma can cause what we generically call canine infectious respiratory disease complex (CIRDC, formerly and still commonly called “kennel cough”). We see clusters of disease periodically and hear rumours of larger outbreaks, but usually there’s not a lot of additional information… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsThis latest flu strain probably isn’t as big a deal as some other influenza viruses found in dogs, but it demonstrates that it’s important to monitor influenza in different species and look for changes. A paper published ahead of print in Emerging Infections Diseases (Lin et al, Dec 2015) describes an H6N1 influenza virus in… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsAs canine influenza continues it’s rather gradual, patchwork movement across North America, an outbreak at a greyhound racetrack southeast of Houston highlights some of the concerns about this virus. Canine influenza has been active in the Houston region for some time, causing sporadic infections as well as outbreaks in pet dogs in the community and… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsKennel cough, also (and more properly) referred to as canine infectious respiratory disease complex (CIRDC), has been in the news lately. This condition is a syndrome, not a specific disease, being potentially caused by a range of bacteria, viruses and Mycoplasma, including canine parainfluenza virus, canine influenza virus, canine respiratory herpesvirus, canine adenovirus, distemper virus,… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsAn article from NBCMontana.com describes a kennel cough outbreak in dogs in Bozeman, Montana. It’s a pretty basic article that outlines a rather typical presentation of kennel cough (now largely referred to as canine infectious respiratory disease complex – a respiratory infection that can be caused by a range of viruses, bacteria and Mycoplasma). As… Continue Reading
