Canine flu warning

 

This is for all you sweet, kind hearted folks who melt with a soulful or sad look from a stray or abandoned dog. I know many of you have rescued dogs from climate disaster areas such as Hurricane Katrina and Harvey and hurricane Maria in Puerto Rica.  And more recently dogs rescued from the floods in China.  Many dozens of dogs were imported from China's ravaged, flooded lands and mud slides and it appears they brought something with them. It is referred to as the 'Canine flu'. We have never had any cases in Canada before.

Although there is no human risk from canine influenza, the arrival of the virus does present a few concerns for pooches and the humans who love them. Here’s what they need to know:

*The symptoms of dog and human flus are essentially the same.

*Dogs will get a fever, they’ll feel kind of run down, they’ll get a runny nose, runny eyes, and a cough.
*Some dogs also develop mild diarrhea or vomiting.
*If the flu has been reported in your area, keep your dogs away from other animals, especially if you see dogs with runny noses or eyes. Stay away from dog parks and dog walks.
*There is a flu shot for dogs, just as there’s one for humans, and it does cover the H3N2 strain diagnosed in the rescue dogs.
As mentioned, it doesn’t appear that humans can contract dog flu. But one concern flu experts have is with something called “re-assortment,” meaning the mixing together of human and dog flus.
That could happen if a dog infected with canine flu also contracted a human flu, and the two strains combined to create a new virus that was capable of infecting humans. That would be a concern  because it would create a novel virus that humans had no immunity to.
It’s really unlikely to happen, but because it’s possible, we pay close attention to it.
The public announcement below is for all who have recently adopted animals from the Orient: