How it spreads, how vets treat it

WAYLAND — A mysterious respiratory illness that has impacted dogs and puzzled veterinarians has dog owners concerned and thinking twice about leaving their four-legged friends in boarding houses or kennels for the holiday.

“The unfortunate thing is that what we are seeing mimics a lot of other respiratory illnesses in dogs, which involves coughing, lethargy, decreased appetite,” said Marion Silk, a veterinarian at Silk Veterinary Hospital on Pelham Island Road. “The major difference with this one is that it's not responding to treatment the same way that other respiratory illnesses do.”

The illness so far has been most prevalent out West, with Oregon reporting more than 200 confirmed cases of the disease. But the virus has been found in 13 other states, including Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. Some states say the illness, which can cause severe pneumonia, has resulted in fatalities.

Map:Mysterious and fatal dog respiratory illness reported in 14 states

Typically, respiratory illnesses in dogs can be treated with antibiotics. Common illnesses, like kennel cough, have symptoms that last two to three weeks, and can be cleared up with rest and antibiotics. However, the new illness that has been identified has yet to respond to such treatment, with veterinary teams working hard to determine its cause and the best ways to treat it going forward.

“There is research right now coming out in New Hampshire that may be indicating that mycoplasma, or a bacterial infection, is leading to the illness — but we can't know for sure,” Silk said. “On the positive side, from what we have been able to observe, the mortality rate has been very low.”

Experts believe illness is spread through close contact with an infected dog

David Needle, senior veterinary pathologist at the University of New Hampshire’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, said he believes the illness, which causes chronic respiratory problems, is likely spread through close contact and breathing in the same air as an infected animal.

That likely means the virus is spreading through congregations of dogs, such as at kennels, day care centers, dog parks and other gathering spots. Silk said that if owners think their dog may be ill, they should avoid having their dogs associate with other dogs, especially in coming weeks as more people travel for the holidays.

“Keep the animals separated, if you have any concern that your dog may be sick,” Silk said. “For the past two weeks, I've been recommending that, because we just don't know how long the dogs can be contagious, so I've been recommending the quarantine idea.”

Silk also said owners should be observant if their dog exhibits atypical behavior, such as not getting up for things that they usually get up for, or if they're eating more slowly or not at all.

Dogs that are more susceptible to respiratory illnesses are typically those without longer snouts, such as pugs and bulldogs.

“Dogs without any muzzles are usually more susceptible to respiratory illnesses,” Silk said.

Veterinarians don't believe humans get the virus

She added that the illness is not contagious to humans or any other animals, from what veterinarians have been able to observe.

Needle, who said he has been studying the illness for more than a year at the school's Hubbard Center for Genome Research, said the disease is not always fatal and so far, the dogs who contracted it and died had underlying issues.

He said he and a team from the university have been studying samples from Oregon, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Websites where owners can learn more information about the dog illness, and other advice for pet health care include wormsandgermsblog.com and the New Hampshire Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.

Material from USA Today was used in this report.