Dr. Crawford first began investigating greyhound deaths in January 2004 at a racetrack in Jacksonville, Fla., where 8 of the 24 greyhounds who contracted the virus died. "This is a newly emerging pathogen," she said, "and we have very little information to make predictions about it. But I think the fatality rate is between 1 and 10 percent.  Because dogs had no natural immunity to the virus, virtually every animal exposed would be infected. About 80 percent of dogs that are infected with the virus will develop symptoms", Dr. Crawford said. She added that the symptoms were often mistaken for "kennel cough," a common canine illness that is caused by the bordetella bronchiseptica bacteria. Both diseases can cause coughing and gagging for up to three weeks, but dogs with canine flu may spike fevers as high as 106 degrees and have runny noses. A few will develop pneumonia, and some of those cases will be fatal. Antibiotics and fluid cut the pneumonia fatality rate.

The virus is an H3N8 flu which is related to an equine flu strain, however, it is not related to typical human flus or to the H5N1 avian flu that killed about 100 people in Asia. So far there are no known cases of the canine flu infecting humans. "The risk of that is low, but we are keeping an eye on it," said Dr. Ruben Donis, chief of molecular genetics for the influenza branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is tracking the illness. But with the approach of the human flu season and fears about bird flu in Asia, there is much confusion among some dog owners who have heard about the disease.  Dr. Crawford said she was fielding calls from kennels and veterinarians across the country worried that they were having outbreaks.

Treatment For Canine Influenza:  Keep in mind that viruses are not usually affected by antibiotics used against bacterial infections.  Antiviral drugs such as amantidine and Tamiflu have been used but are not licensed for use in dogs... the information base on the success of antiviral therapy is still small. Antibiotics for both Gram negative and Gram positive organisms may be needed due to secondary invasion of damaged lung tissues from opportunistic bacteria.  Fluid therapy for debilitated dogs could be required to give support to these patients while their own bodies create defensive immune factors to assist in warding off the infection.  Older dogs and young puppies may be at greatest risk for treatment failure.  X-rays may be needed to evaluate the severity of pneumonia.  In spite of vigorous in-hospital therapy, some dogs simply will not respond and will succumb to the disease.

Tests For Canine Influenza:
Veterinarians can send blood samples to the Cornell School of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Health Diagnostic Center, which is the only laboratory doing blood tests on Canine Influenza at this time.  Nasal swabs may be submitted to a veterinary pathologist for evaluation and virus isolation but the sample must be taken very early in the course of the infection... usually within 72 hours after signs develop in the dog.  Any dog that displays a persistent coughing, hacking or gagging should be evaluated by a veterinarian.  Coughing, hacking or gagging are actually non-specific signs and therefore cannot be used to identify any single cause.  Do not assume your dog has Canine Influenza just because it is showing signs of a respiratory disorder.  These signs may be due to a variety of disorders such as tonsillitis, fungal disease such as Blastomycosis, Congestive Heart Failure, Heartworms, tumors, infiltrative immune disorders of the bronchial structures, foreign body obstruction and other disorders.  A diagnostic workup may be needed to positively identify the cause of the dog's difficulty.  Ask your veterinarian about vaccinating your dog against the Bordetella organism that is associated with Infectious Tracheobronchitis (Kennel Cough), the common and familiar respiratory disorder affecting unprotected dogs.  Will a vaccine be developed for this new and emerging disease of dogs called Canine Influenza (Canine Flu)?  Scientists are already studying this disease and the chances of immunization being a reality are assured if this infection continues to spread.  Contact your veterinarian for more information.

More about... TESTS FOR CANINE FLU (INFLUENZA)

Below is a message sent to Wisconsin veterinarians by the Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Association.  It contained a message from Christopher W. Olsen, DVM PhD at the School of Veterinary Medicine, Madison, WI.  Dr. Olsen's email is below.  Note that for virus isolation and identification to be accurate, the nasal swab must be taken from the dog within a short time of displaying signs of Canine Influenza.  After the 72 hours of clinical signs, recovery of live virus from the dog is unlikely and at that point serological (blood) testing may be helpful in making a diagnosis of the disease.