The respiratory illness in dogs, seen now in 16 states, was first recognized in August of this year in Oregon. Dogs that come down with this illness have symptoms including a cough, fever and lethargy. Some can contract pneumonia and, in some cases, it can lead to death. The symptoms are similar to Canine Respiratory Disease Complex (CIRDC), or kennel cough. The key thing that differentiates this new outbreak is that it is not responding to the antibiotics used for bacterial caused respiratory infections.
In late summer, Oregon Veterinary Medical Association received 200 reports of cases of dogs with antibiotic resistant respiratory disease focused around Portland. The disease has since spread across 16 states spanning the U.S. and reports of dogs with the illness in Arizona have surfaced this week, although are not confirmed.
The reason it is so difficult to know if this disease is spreading is that the government agency that regulates animal diseases, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), does not regulate this particular animal disease. Because of this, APHIS does not have information such as number of cases throughout the country or even when these cases started.
Side bar, their focus is on food chain animal diseases and preventing them from getting into the human food chain. This is the group at Denver International Airport that confiscated the cured sausage I brought back from the Christmas Market in Austria last month.
As a pet parent and member of the pet care community we do have options to minimize the risk and help our pets stay healthy. I formulated InClover’s Daily Multi to create a shield of protection to support a robust immune system. We can be proactive and protect our pets because they do deserve more.
Rebecca Rose
InClover Founder and Product Developer