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Dog owners warned to be proactive as mysterious illness spreads nationwide

WISCONSIN (WKOW) -- A mysterious respiratory illness is impacting dogs nationwide and experts say the cause is completely unknown.

Experts say the illness has been detected in Florida, Colorado, Oregon and Illinois.

University of Wisconsin veterinary expert Keith Poulsen told 27 News, the illness hasn't yet made its way to Wisconsin, but experts warn there's a strong chance it will.

"Dogs travel a lot, whether they're through shelters, rescues, or even with their owners who traveled quite a bit," Poulsen explained. 

Poulsen works for the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and School of Veterinary Medicine where he specializes in infectious diseases.

He said states are reporting that the illness presents itself in very different ways.

"What we've been hearing from our colleague and our peer laboratories around the country, is that different states seem to have different attack rates, but they're all something different," he added.

He explained that without a clear understanding of the illness, finding out what is causing it has been extremely difficult. 

"It's been quite a conundrum," Poulsen said. 

The good news is it doesn't seem to have a high fatality rate. However, dogs at an increased risk could still die if they contract it. 

"I assume, just like some of our other respiratory diseases, that a dog could die if they have an underlying condition," he added. "Maybe an older dog or a dog with some other type of immunosuppressive disease or something like that."

He said in the majority of cases, dogs have symptoms such as a cough, runny nose, trouble breathing and being overly tired. 

"Some labs have reported the respiratory difficulties been lasting for a long period of time, and it has a high morbidity or meaning there's a lot of sick dogs, but has a low mortality, meaning it doesn't necessarily cause an event that causes the dog to die," Poulsen said. "But everyone has a little bit different experience."

The Associated Press reports the illness sometimes causes lasting respiratory disease and pneumonia and does not respond to antibiotics.

Some cases of the pneumonia progress quickly, making dogs very sick within 24 to 36 hours.

Poulsen says people with older dogs and dogs with pre-existing health conditions are should steer clear of busy dog parks. 

"Dogs that are very young or dogs that might be super old, or any dog that might be on a corticosteroid or any other type of immunosuppressive drug or disease, those are going to be the dogs that you probably want to avoid things like heavily concentrated dog parks," Poulsen said. 

Some experts have reported the illness showing similar symptoms to kennel cough or pneumonia.

This could present very similarly," Poulsen added. "But the issue that we see here is that we don't really know if it's a primary virus or if there's multiple different pathogens that are causing this problem."

He explained groomers and dog daycare facilities are generally safe since they use disinfecting products.

However, he said with people traveling for the Holidays, it's important to keep a close eye on your dog. 

"It really goes along with knowing your risk factors, and then watching your dog very closely," he said. 

With the cause undermined, treatment isn't concreate. 

Poulsen said having your dog be up to date on vaccines could be crucial during this time. 

If someone notices their dog acting abnormally; sleeping too much, not eating, coughing a lot or sneezing, experts say to call their veterinarian and get tests done as soon as possible.

More at WKOW 27 News


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