Emerging Canine Respiratory Disease
As many of you know, a newly emerging canine respiratory disease is plaguing the country and many of our members and the public are clamoring for answers and ways to help protect their pets this holiday season. We here at the CVMA want to keep you apprised of the situation as it unfolds and will be sending any updates we receive regarding new cases in the Chicagoland area as soon as we receive new information. Here are some important facts to know about the respiratory disease as of November 29th, 2023.
- The pathogen is unknown but suspected to be viral in nature. Any secondary infections tend to be more severe.
- The disease has only been reported in canines and no people have developed symptoms to date.
- The pathogen seems to spread like most respiratory viruses, similar to COVID-19.
- There is no test for the disease.
- Manifestations of the disease are typically chronic tracheobronchitis of 6-8 weeks duration or a chronic pneumonia. Rarely, a severe pneumonia may occur typically 24-36 hours after developing clinical
signs. This disease manifestation has an extremely poor prognosis and is minimally responsive to medical intervention. Fatalities have occurred. - The disease outbreak seems to have originated in Oregon where over 200 cases have been reported since mid-August.
- Suspected cases have been reported in Illinois, Indiana, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
- In Illinois, there have been reports of suspected cases in Western Springs, Clarendon Hills and the Quad Cities.
- Anecdotal reports indicate that a combination of atypical antibiotics such as enrofloxacin or chloramphenicol and prednisone seem to generate the best results in sick patients.
Current recommendations for owners are to make sure their dogs are up-to-date on their regular vaccines and to socially distance their dogs from other dogs as much as possible. With the holiday season that may be very difficult for people but at the very least puppies, geriatric dogs and dogs with comorbidities should stay home.
Finally, if you have a suspected case in your clinic, please update us ASAP so we can keep everyone as informed as possible. You can reach us at cvma@chicagovma.org or call us at 630-325-1231.
Stay Safe and Happy Holidays,
Dr. Marina Jaworsky