A mysterious illness has been affecting dogs in at least 19 states so far. While there have been no known cases in New York yet, veterinarians are still working to raise awareness.
“They don't know what organism it is,” said Dr. Melissa Galluch, a veterinarian with the Abbott Road Animal Hospital. “So you can't test for something that you don't know precisely what it is. Once they have figured that out, there will be ways that we can test for it. But you can do the test by elimination.”
Dr. Galluch says that’s why it’s challenging to determine if it’s a case of the mysterious respiratory illness affecting dogs across the country. The illness is suspected to be bacterial and not viral, but those in the field haven’t been able to isolate the organism yet, plus, there’s also a small window of time to test by elimination. She says the field sees cycles of respiratory illnesses of mystery originals in dogs every few years. This one seems to have started in late 2022.
“We're still not sure what causes it,” Galluch said. “So we are not sure of the best form of treatment. It is part of an overreaching disease complex that we see in dogs. We call that canine infectious respiratory disease complex.”
Dr. Galluch says symptoms of the current respiratory illness include coughing for six weeks, sneezing, discharge with color, a decreased appetite and more. She says some dogs have died from this illness but most cases haven’t been severe.
“First thing is make sure that that dog has had a chance of exposure to the organism,” Galluch said. “I've gotten a few people who've come in who are afraid of this organism, but the dogs have not come in contact with other dogs and that is one of the hallmarks. This is an infectious process. So they do have to come in contact with dogs that are positive for it.”
Dr. Galluch recommends all pet owners have an established veterinarian that they can call in case of any illness, but if you specifically see symptoms of the respiratory illness in your canine, you should reach out.
