OFTCA

Canine flu making making move across the countryby Brian Brus The Journal Record August 24, 2009 OKLAHOMA CITY – Dr. Chris Rispoli doesn’t take a patient’s sneezing lightly. It’s probably just a case of “kennel cough,” but the incidence of potentially deadly canine influenza has been increasing across the country recently. Latest Health Care News Advancia Aeronautics awarded share in contractORU uses grant to recruit studentsHouse Democrats seek info from health insurersRees part of design team selected for Nigerian hospitalSt. Anthony TV ads feature employeesHundreds attend Okla. town hall meeting on health carePoll: Growing worries in U.S. on health care accessStudy: Ibuprofen is best for kids with broken armsLong lines as free health care offered in L.A. areaChinese mayor apologizes for lead poisoningCurrent Edition “It’s out there. It’s rare that we would see it, but we still have to keep an eye out for that potential and stay vigilant,” said the veterinarian at Gentle Care Animal Hospital in northwest Oklahoma City.Dr. Sanjay Kapil, virology section head at the Oklahoma Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in Stillwater, lately has been finding more positive results from tests for the dog flu H3N8 virus. Of the 80 nasal swabs recently tested, 12 were confirmed with the virus, he said. The laboratory, which is part of Oklahoma State University’s Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, normally receives samples from across the country for routine diagnosis. “It is only recently that we have detected several nasal swabs positive for the canine influenza virus. To our knowledge, none of the CIV-positive cases are from Oklahoma,” he said. An animal shelter in Virginia was the latest place to be hit by dog flu, resulting in one fatality and about 25 other ill dogs earlier this month. Local officials closed the center for two weeks. Cases recently have also been confirmed in Colorado, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The OSU center lab has been receiving several test samples from clinics in Virginia. The flu is specific to canines and cannot be passed to humans. The first recognized outbreak is believed to have occurred in racing greyhounds in January 2004 at a track in Florida, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. Sporadic outbreaks occurred throughout the country over the next few years, and by October 2008, about 1,100 cases of canine influenza had been confirmed by the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine Animal Health Diagnostic Center. Kapil said that since the first outbreak, animal health care experts have been watching for the virus. They’ve been warning pet owners lately to be more careful about taking their pets to so-called doggie day-care centers, boarding facilities and dog parks, but weighing those concerns against unnecessary fretting. “We do not want to cause a panic, but we must help people understand that highly contagious nature of this,” Kapil said. “They should not avoid their normal behavior, as long as they understand the risk. … All it takes is the introduction of one dog into an area.” The flu usually hits kenneled dog populations, Rispoli said, “so we’re very lucky, those of us with day practices, that we don’t have large groups of dogs that stay together for any length of time.” Kapil said dogs in kennels or day-care centers tend to be more stressed, too, which increases the likelihood of compromised health and contracting an illness. If a dog does contract the flu, symptoms will include fever, lethargy, loss of appetite and respiratory infection that may last a few weeks. So far, the fatality rate is about 5 percent. But Rispoli said a sick dog can pick up secondary bacterial infections and prolong recovery. Kapil said concerned pet owners should ask their veterinarians about the availability of a new vaccine developed in recent months. The latest survey found about 37 percent of the country’s households have pet dogs, slightly more than households with cats, at 32 percent, the association reported. Dog-owning households spend an average of $356 per year on veterinary care.