****Upper Respiratory Infection Update****
We have seen approximately a half dozen dogs recently with symptoms of
upper respiratory disease - ranging from coughing and sneezing to nasal
discharge, fever, and lethargy. The patients that we have seen are
frequent visitors to either dog parks or doggie daycares in our area.
Many of the facilities are calling this a "kennel cough" outbreak. This
is a possibility, but bear in mind that
there are a lot of respiratory pathogens that cause these same
symptoms. "Kennel cough" is a complex of Bordetella bronchiseptica,
Parainfluenza, and Adenovirus Type II that causes a tracheobronchitis.
These are the exact pathogens that are in our "Kennel Cough" vaccine.
We have confirmed with our vaccine manufacturer that the vaccine is
still effective and produces immunity for 12 to 13 months. This
correlates with the American Veterinary Medical Association's
recommendations.
We want all of our clients to be aware of this
upper respiratory disease outbreak. We do not know what is causing the
symptoms at this time - it may be something unrelated to kennel cough!
We currently have tests pending to identify which disease is causing
the symptoms and all of our patients are improving!
In the
meantime, we are encouraging all of our clients to be very cautious
about going to canine social sites during this time. The diseases are
primarily spread via dog-to-dog contact. Let's be cautious and take a
two week break from socializing at the local dog parks and daycares.
If your pet is showing symptoms of an upper respiratory infection, please call our office to schedule an appointment!
Upper Respiratory Infection in Southwest Michigan
posted: Thu Oct 02 15:35:20 EDT 2014 by: Christina Bowles, DVM Tags: "Clinic Specials" "News"