As H5N1 avian flu ramps up again across Canada with the fall wild bird migration, we’re likely going to see more situations where more unique populations of captive birds are affected, beyond the usual large or small poultry flocks. The CFIA’s standard response to highly pathogenic avian flu (like the current H5N1 strain) is “
Handling Backyard Poultry in Veterinary Clinics During the H5N1 Avian Influenza Outbreak
As the unprecedented outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza continues in North America, there are numerous concerns about where the outbreak is heading and threats to other species, including domestic and wild mammals, and people (the latter being just another “domestic mammal”). My inbox is filled with questions about different concerns and scenarios. The one I’ll
H5N1 Avian Influenza in Foxes: Ontario
H5N1 influenza was recently found in two wild fox kits in St. Marys, Ontario. It’s a pretty noteworthy event given the scope of the current H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak across Canada, and the fact this is the first identification of H5N1 influenza in wild mammals in Ontario. The fox
Canine Flu and a Bit of Geopolitics?
Since we’re still seeing more respiratory disease in dogs pretty widely across North America (see previous blog posts on this topic for more info), I get asked about canine influenza a lot. My general responses are:
- Canada: As far as we know, we don’t have canine influenza in Canada. It was introduced
Canine Influenza: California
After a couple of years of very little apparent canine influenza activity in the US, the virus seems to have come back with a vengeance in some parts of California. Canine H3N2 influenza came to North America from Asia in approximately 2015 and caused outbreaks in many areas, but then seemed to slip into
Respiratory Disease Outbreaks In Dogs
For the past year or more, we’ve been trying to track infectious upper respiratory tract disease (officially known as “canine infectious respiratory disease complex (CIRDC)” but more commonly called “kennel cough”). It’s a tough thing to do since testing is limited, the disease is always present to some degree in the dog population, and there’s
Update: Canine Flu in California (August 14)
A few days ago, I wrote about a potential H1N1 influenza outbreak in dogs in California. As I mentioned, H1N1 influenza causing an outbreak in dogs would be noteworthy because it’s not a known canine flu strain, and an outbreak would be unexpected given how rare it is to have human-to-dog transmission of human
H1N1 Influenza in Dogs: California?
I’ve had a couple of reports today about an apparent H1N1 influenza outbreak in dogs in the US. Note that I said influenza in dogs, not canine influenza – there’s a reason for that, explained below…
The situation revolves around a respiratory disease outbreak in a dog kennel in California, and PCR testing of
Canine Influenza in the News: US
Canine influenza is back in the news in the US, with close to 50 dogs infected with canine influenza at a dog rescue in Florida. The outbreak has been going on for over two weeks already. This is a “surprising but not surprising” scenario to me.
It’s a bit surprising because canine flu activity
International Canine Infectious Disease Map
A few times a week, I get questions like this from veterinarians:
- I have a canine patient from [name your country] and it’s sick. What diseases should I be aware of?
- I have healthy canine patient that was just imported from [name your country]. What diseases should I be aware of?
Or I get