Respiratory Disease Sweeping the Nation?

 

There has been a lot of noise in the news lately about an upper respiratory disease in dogs.  Here's the local scoop:

 

We are not seeing a problem locally right now. 

 

Whatever the media is reporting,  it is not happening in Idaho Falls.  We see respiratory disease in dogs every day. It's called Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease Complex, or CIRDC.  Most people call it "kennel cough." In reality, there are about six or seven different infectious agents that cause it.  There is a certain base-line level of CIRDC all the time, and it is not worse now here in Idaho Falls than it has been earlier this year.

The cases that we do see are not any worse than they usually are.  Just business as usual.  They get sick, they get treated, they get better.  Only rarely do they get seriously ill and progress to pneumonia.

The are definitely media reports of outbreaks of apparently severe respiratory disease in dogs in various places, Oregon and Maine to name two.  These cases are reportedly more severe than the usual CIRDC, although no new infectious agent has been identified.  All in all, we really don't have much information to go on.

 

So What is Really Going On?

There are several possibilities. 

1) It is possible that there is a new dog disease that will eventually spread nationwide.  DOGVID if you will....  This is very unlikely.

2) It is possible that there is an outbreak of an existing dog disease.  Maybe a Parainfluenza outbreak in a few areas.  This is more likely.

3) It is possible that there is just a slight increase in the amout of the usual dog diseases that has just received a lot of media attention.  This is most likely.

 

Until we have more data, scenario number three is most likely.

 

To sum up, it's just business as usual here in Idaho Falls.  No unusual sicknesses, no unusual deaths.  There is certainly some cause for concern, but at this point locally there is no real danger.

 

Some general guidelines to reduce the risk of transmission of infection

This is just good advice in general.

• Limit your dog’s contacts with dogs of unknown health status (dog parks, greenbelt, petstores, etc).
• Keep your dog away from sick dogs.
• If your dog gets sick, keep it away from other dogs.
• If your dog gets sick, have it examined, diagnosed, and treated promptly.
• Consider vaccination for the upper respiratory diseases for which we have vaccinations:  Bordetella brochiseptica, Parainfluenza, and Canine Adenovirus type 2. (Canine Influenza is also a possibility, but we have not seen cases of this in Idaho Falls, so not recommended.)