There is a race to find the reason why America’s dogs are sick
Dog Respiratory Illness — “Mystery Cause” Symptoms: Comment on Pet Owners’ Uncertainty about Their Dog’s Health Care
“I brought him in to work and he was diagnosed with pneumonia,” says Dozier. He took three different types of antibiotics and went through a period of steroids for about three to four weeks.
And if your pet does get sick, get them seen immediately. When her dog started coughing earlier this fall, Dozier initially wasn’t that worried. That changed as his condition deteriorated, though.
Nichols worries about the exponential rise in fear among some pet owners. Some people have stopped going for health care because they worry their dog will catch something at the clinic.
Some people may want to steer clear of “high traffic” public places like dog parks and if possible, boarding facilities, groomers and other crowded settings, says Dr. Ashley Nichols, president of the Maryland Veterinary Medical Association.
Williams thinks it is possible that something different is going on in the Pacific Northwest.
Source: Veterinarians say fears about ‘mystery’ dog illness may be overblown. Here’s why
Is there more respiratory illness out there? A veterinarian’s assessment of Oregon’s case of mycoplasma, a rare respiratory illness
More than 200 dogs in Oregon have died from a respiratory illness that has left him examining the lungs of dogs who have died. So far, he’s finding acute injury in the small air sacs, called alveoli, and bleeding from that into the lungs.
“I don’t want to get out over my skis here, but I’ve looked at a lot of dog lungs in my career, and these are a little bit different,” he says, “So it makes me think, maybe, there’s something out there.”
“If there are a lot of sick dogs in your area, then it is reasonable to be more restrictive. If you’ve got a dog that’s at high risk for disease, be more restrictive,” he says.
Weese says that mycoplasma can be found in dogs without respiratory disease. He says it’s way too soon to assume this is behind any of these outbreaks.
Things have been worst in Oregon. The state’s Department of Agriculture began receiving reports of unusual canine respiratory infections back in August. In the state, over 200 dogs have been diagnosed with a similar illness and similar cases have been reported in other states. The disease is similar to a respiratory illness, known as kennel cough, in its symptoms but it is not responsive to the common antibiotics used to treat it. In some cases, the new disease has been fatal.
According to veterinarians who study infectious diseases, there may be more than one illness in this case. There’s still scant evidence connecting these cases with any common pathogen, let alone to an altogether new one.
He said that for five years he’s been getting that email saying “are we seeing more respiratory disease in dogs?”
This framing can be misleading, since it gives the impression that a disease is spreading. “We have a very poor understanding of the cases clinically,” he says.
How many dogs are going to daycare? An animal veterinarian’s perspective on the puzzling case of a dog that’s not diagnosed with respiratory illness
Now, in the most recent outbreak, they are screening dogs with long-standing coughs and sneezes from other states that have tested negative for known respiratory diseases—including some dogs from Oregon—to hunt for the same fragment. It is suspected that the DNA is associated with the illness in some dogs, but more tests are required to confirm if it is a pathogen or not. Needle is certain it isn’t a virus—too many genes are present. His best guess is that it is a new strain ofbacteria.
The uptick in illness doesn’t happen in a vacuum, either: Dog ownership in the U.S has increased, vaccinations have been disrupted and more people board their dogs to travel for the holiday season.
Respiratory disease in dogs comes and goes, and the last few years have seen more dramatic swings where it takes place across multiple areas.
She suspects one could be a “pathogen soup,” which is a mixture of different infections that can make dogs sick and prolonging their recovery.
Sykes, who founded the International Society for Companion Animal Infectious Diseases, says the observations that dogs are resistant to standard treatment is thorny because many dogs are treated unnecessarily with antibiotics, when, in fact, they have a viral illness.
The dog’s body can change from day to day and the levels of the pathogen can change when the sample is taken.
The fear of a new pathogen has been raised and there are many reasons why the tests used for canine respiratory illness could come back negative.
“We’ve been running respiratory panels to check about 20 different viruses and bacteria,” says Beyer, who runs South Des Moines Veterinary Center, “A lot of them are coming back negative.”
Similar to veterinarians in other states, Dr. Melissa Beyer says she’s not seeing dogs with an unidentified illness dying in high numbers. What’s puzzling is they can’t identify the causes of their illness.
I watched nervously as my 80-pound dog left for his regularly scheduled doggy daycare, knowing that he would soon be sharing his germs with his friends.
I wondered, does this constitute a high-risk situation? I had no idea where the other dogs spent their time while he played with this small circle of dogs every week.
Copper, a tan-and-brown mixed-breed, spent October fighting for his life. The Missouri dog first got sick on October 7, a light cough quickly progressing into a wet hacking one, loss of appetite, and lowered blood oxygen levels. He was admitted to the intensive care unit of the veterinary hospital when antibiotics didn’t help.
Copper spent a week in isolation, receiving oxygen support, IV fluids, and antibiotics. Copper used more antibiotics and an oxygen concentrator after he came back, and he was still not out of the woods. He was in the hospital for one more night before he was released, and after that he wasn’t doing anything but improve back at home. “We felt close to losing him a few times,” Copper’s owner Kevin Mahoney says.
Over 200 dogs have died in the US’ Oregon from a respiratory illness, which is similar to a respiratory illness, known as kennel cough, in its symptoms but it’s not responsive to the common antibiotics used to treat it. A veterinarian has said he’s looked at a lot of dog lungs in his career, and these are a little bit different.