While it was pretty well documented on the Worms & Germs Blog as it was underway, the full story regarding Ontario’s 2018 canine influenza outbreak(s) has now been published in the latest edition of Emerging Infectious Diseases. You can use the link above to access the full report, but here are some highlights.
Canine 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
I’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
I’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:
Things 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
As 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
Canine 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
I’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
Windsor-Essex:
Muskoka:
One problematic aspect
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
