Dog respiratory illness overview:Â
- Who: The American Veterinary Medical Association is investigating a respiratory illness reported in dogs.
- Why: The illness was first detected in Oregon this summer and has now spread across the country, causing chronic respiratory problems in dogs.Â
- Where: The mystery respiratory illness has been reported in 14 states across the US.Â
A mysterious respiratory illness affecting dogs has now been reported in 14 states across the United States, with the disease now reported in both Florida and California after originating on the West Coast.Â
The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) is investigating the cause of the disease, USA Today reports.Â
Pet owners first detected the respiratory illness in Oregon this summer, with veterinarians and animal sanctuary owners in the state reporting more than 200 cases since mid-August, according to USA Today.Â
Officials with the Oregon Department of Agriculture have been working with both state and national diagnostics laboratories to determine the causative pathogen and are asking veterinarians to report cases to them as fast as possible, the AVMA tells USA Today. Veterinarians at Colorado State University reportedly connected the disease to cases of severe pneumonia and fatalities.
Dog respiratory illness symptoms include dehydration, fever, wheezing, weight loss
In addition to Oregon, Colorado, Florida and California, the mystery respiratory illness has been reported in Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.Â
Common symptoms of the dog respiratory illness include chronic mild-moderate tracheobronchitis, chronic pneumonia that doesn’t respond to antibiotics and acute pneumonia that quickly turns severe, the AVMA tells USA Today. The disease also reportedly commonly causes difficulty or rapid breathing, dehydration, fever, wheezing, weight loss, nasal or eye discharge, lethargy and loss of appetite.Â
While the exact cause of transmission is currently unknown, a senior veterinary pathologist at the University of New Hampshire’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory told USA Today the disease is likely spread through close contact between infected animals.Â
The AVMA reportedly advises dog owners to fully vaccinate their pets, in particular for kennel cough, and to avoid dog parks, pet stores and grooming facilities.Â
In other dog-related news, Mid America Pet Food expanded a voluntary recall earlier this month to include additional dog and cat food products the company says may have been contaminated with salmonella. Â
Are you concerned about the mystery respiratory illness affecting dogs across the United States? Let us know in the comments.
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6 thoughts onRespiratory illness affects dogs across the country
My mom told me back in the old days. Dogs would get pneumonia from the droppings of pine trees. The spores live forever and the dogs inhale it when they’re sniffing around and that it can cause pneumonia. It can also cause pneumonia in adults. It’s like an ancient disease that has always been there, And now for some reason seems to have become prevalent again. All the states that how is this, Seem to be green states. As in lots of trees, moisture, et cetera. Anyway, that’s my take on it. As a note, I’m using my microphone on this, And for some reason it won’t let me go back and correct any errors on my comment.
This past April May 2023, I had a large senior male Maine Coon cat, about 14 yrs) suddenly come down with a mysterious respiratory issue, and was very congested and not eating. Brought him to the vet and got treatment and he got better in about 10-14 days, but then another of my male cats, DSH about 12 yrs seemed to suddenly have the same issues, and just stopped eating. I brought him to the vet and got treatment, but he went downhill and after a few weeks and developed fluid in his lungs, and I had to put him down. The vet said he has never seen lung xrays like those from my cat and did not know what it was or what caused it. I also had two other female cats and they had no issues at all. My cats are all indoor cats, so I have no idea what could have happened to cause the respiratory issues. I do have a friend who walks dogs and pet sits, and she has visited me maybe once or twice a month, and usually my female cats hide, so I’m not sure if any bacterium was transmitted from her to my two male cats, but seems like a stretch. I am located in the state of Maryland. I wish I knew what caused that, as my male cat that was lost was healthy before he got hit with whatever happened.
I’m sorry about your cat. I too, lost a cat in a similar way. It is a hard loss for those of us who live our animals like they are our kids.
My dog came down with this around the summer of 2021. We live in Florida andI took him to three different vets. He was on many antibiotics and nothing helped him. He was put under anesthesia and they even did tried to clear out his nasal passages. He was sneezing and coughing everyday. I was cleaning up his nasal discharge at least 15 times a day. Sometimes it had blood in it. The poor boy suffered for a little over a year until his breathing just became too unbearable for me and my husband to deal with any longer, and then we decided we had to put him down. So this has been going on longer than anyone is mentioning in any articles. One vet offered to run some very expensive tests that I couldn’t afford, now knowing they wouldn’t have been able to figure out what was wrong anyhow. Somebody needs to really look into this matter because my little boy suffered immensely.
Plz add me
A couple years ago 2 years ago I think to be exact my dog got really sick when I took him to get groomed they said it was kennel cough when I took him to the Saugus Animal Hospital he was all up to date in his shots he was fine before he went to go get groomed the doctor called it some form of respiratory as in croup I knew it was more than that