From New Hampshire to Oregon, researchers are endeavoring to unravel the mystery behind an infectious respiratory ailment affecting dogs, which has proven fatal in rare instances.
Characterized as an “atypical canine infectious respiratory disease” by the Oregon Department of Agriculture in a news release on November 9, the illness manifests with symptoms such as coughing, sneezing, eye or nose discharge, and lethargy.
In Oregon alone, veterinarians have documented over 200 cases of this disease since mid-August, with additional occurrences reported in Colorado, Illinois, and New Hampshire.
Dr. Ryan Scholz, the State Veterinarian of Oregon, informed the American Veterinary Medical Association that, based on the reported cases, there seems to be a viral connection, but conventional respiratory diagnostic tests have mostly yielded negative results.
In essence, dogs afflicted with this unidentified illness exhibit symptoms akin to those of upper respiratory diseases, yet conventional tests often fail to confirm common respiratory diseases. Moreover, the disease appears to be resistant to standard treatments, as noted by Dr. David B. Needle, a pathologist at the New Hampshire Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and clinical associate professor at the University of New Hampshire. From New Hampshire
Dr. Needle also emphasized that fatalities do not appear to be a predominant aspect of the investigated syndrome, with rare instances where animals develop acute and potentially fatal pneumonia after a more prolonged chronic disease, possibly indicative of secondary infections.
Needle said he’s part of a team trying to identify the disease and find common DNA segments by collecting samples from local veterinary clinics and comparing the results.
“If what we have identified is a pathogen, it is likely that the bacteria is host-adapted bacteria with long histories of colonizing dogs,” Needle said. An “evolutionary event” like spontaneous mutation or getting a gene from a different source could then have led the bacteria to become virulent, he said.
He said researchers have received samples from Oregon and expect to receive samples from Colorado, Illinois and other states for testing.
The Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory has also reported cases of a mysterious canine disease, the lab’s director told CNN in an email.