Dog flu is spreading, with Washington State being the latest state to succumb to reported cases of canine influenza. Washington officials issued a warning Wednesday for dog owners after a new strain of canine flu, called H3N2, was confirmed in at least three dogs, but they suspected that as many as 80 to 90 could be affected by this outbreak, The Examiner reported. The dogs became sick after visiting a dog daycare facility in December.
"If dogs are getting sick with respiratory illness, it should just be considered a possibility," said Beth Lipton, public health veterinarian with Public Health in Seattle and King County, according to The Seattle Times.
Even as the facility owners closed voluntarily and began isolation on affected dogs, canine influenza is a virus and spreads quickly, especially at high canine traffic areas like dog parks, dog daycare, dog boarding facilities, veterinary clinics and groom shops. Limiting or avoiding these place during outbreak season is recommended to keep your dog from getting sick.
"It spreads so easily and because it's a novel virus, there's no immunity," noted American Veterinary Medical Association spokesman Michael San Filippo.
More than 2,000 illnesses from this strain affected 25 states across the U.S. last year. While dogs have been getting sick from canine influenza for years, this strain is different, and yearly vaccines do nothing to prevent the H3N2 strain. Depending on the dog's natural immune system, most only become mildly ill, but some dogs do become very sick with secondary infections. Two percent of the dogs that succumbed to this latest strain of influenza last year have died.
"We are suspicious of a potential outbreak that began in a county kennel," Lipton said, according to My Northwest. "It's highly suspicious right now that the H3N2 strain has reached King County."
Look for tell-tale signs and symptoms such as your dog having a runny nose, a cough with or without a fever, and lethargy. Dogs are typically ill within 24 hours of exposure.
