HOUSTON — With a mystery respiratory illness spreading among dogs across the United States, a Texas A&M professor has some things you can be on the lookout for when it comes to keeping your pet safe.
Dr. Lori Teller said initial cases of the illness started to pop up this summer. Cases were reported in Oregon and the Northeast and then spread to the Midwest and even into Texas.
Teller said they're not sure if the illness is rare because they don't know what's causing it.
"It’s definitely a respiratory infection. Dogs are showing the signs that you would expect, like runny nose, coughing, sneezing. But we have not been able to identify the cause as of yet," Teller said. "We suspect it’s a virus, but it’s not showing up on the usual panels that we can run."
She said it appears as if it's only affecting dogs, not other animals, and it's being noticed in places where dogs congregate, such as doggy daycare facilities, dog parks and boarding kennels.
"It is a contagious disease between dogs, as best we can tell," Teller said.
What to look out for
Teller said symptoms can range from a mild cough that lasts four to six weeks to more severe cases that cause sneezing, runny nose and discharge from the eyes. Some dogs get more serious coughs that can progress to pneumonia.
Pneumonia generally requires hospitalization, and very rarely, some of those that get pneumonia may die, Teller said.
"The vast majority of dogs are recovering from this. For some dogs, that cough can linger for several weeks. So if your dog is otherwise eating, or acting normally, and just has this cough, that, too, will pass," Teller said.
How to prevent the illness
Teller said there are some things you can do to protect your pets.
"First thing to do is make sure your pets are vaccinated against the respiratory infections that we know we can’t protect against because if your dog gets this illness and we don’t know what it is and that gets compounded with something we can prevent that can make it worse," she said.
Those vaccines are for:
- Kennel cough
- Canine influenza
- Para influenza
She also said you can limit your dog's exposure to other dogs, although with the holidays approaching, that could be difficult.
"We also recognize it’s the holidays and some people have no choice. They are going to have to board their dog or have a pet sitter and things like that and the certainly is not something where you should cancel your trip and not celebrate the holiday, but of course, do what you can to protect your dog while you’re out and about," Teller said.
She also said you should check with your vet or boarding location to see if they're doing anything to mitigate the possible spread of the illness.
How many cases are there in Texas?
Teller said it's unclear exactly how many cases of the illness are in Texas since canine respiratory cases aren't reportable. She said it's unclear if there's even been an actual increase in cases or if people are just becoming more aware of it.
"We don’t know how many cases there are in Texas, or even in Houston. We do know that various veterinary clinics have seen some cases, but it’s hard to see if they are on the rise or not," Teller said. "Shelters in Texas have not had outbreaks of this and they have not had to close, which is a great sign, especially because a lot of people adopt pets during the holidays."
While she said other shelters across the country have had to shut down, that's not the case in Texas. She said, at this point, it's best to be aware, but not overreact.
"So, at this point, I think it’s good to have knowledge and be cautious, but I don't want to tell people to upend all of their holiday plans," she said.