Dog owners across Washington state and Montana are being told to watch their pets closely as the new strain of dog flu affecting other parts of the country is quickly spreading.
“Basically it’s a new strain, just like we get in human medicine, and they just developed a vaccine against it back in November of last year. It first showed up in Chicago in March of last year, and it’s just kind of been spreading like wildfire,” said Dr. Clare Foley with Emerald City Emergency Clinic in Seattle.
The new strain was also detected in a dog in Helena, Montana.
The new strain has been found in more than 25 states in less than a year, and health officials believe it’s in King County.
In December, 80 to 90 dogs at a local boarding and dog day care facility in Kent became sick.
Lab tests showed that two dogs who came in contact with a sick dog from that facility tested positive for the new strain of flu.
H3N2 is highly contagious and spreads just like the human flu. Though humans do not get this strain of flu, a person who was in contact with a dog that had the flu could possibly spread it to another dog via contact.
"A lot of dogs in Seattle go to dog parks, doggy day care, boarding facilities -- any of your dogs that are coming into contact with other dogs are at risk,” said Foley.
But there are vaccines available for the new strain. Foley suggests that owners should talk to their veterinarian to determine whether their pet is a candidate for the vaccine.
Foley says if a dog is showing symptoms such as cough, runny nose or fever, the animal should be examined by a veterinarian.
Dogs with the flu could also show no symptoms at all or have less obvious symptoms, such as lethargy or loss of appetite.
A puppy that’s not fully vaccinated yet, an older dog or a dog whose immune system is compromised will have a higher risk of getting the flu.
If untreated, the flu can be fatal, especially in elderly dogs or those with a compromised immune system, but there is a less than 10 percent fatality rate.
The flu can also be spread to cats, but it is much less common.
