10/01/2005

Associated Press

Dog flu has arrived in Oregon, posing a serious threat to pets at shelters and kennels, officials say.

A blood sample from an Oregon dog confirmed Friday the animal had been exposed to the canine influenza virus, according to Edward Dubovi, director of an animal virology lab at Cornell University.

Dubovi was among the researchers who announced this week in the journal Science that the virus had jumped from horses to dogs.

His lab also showed that four samples from Los Angeles were positive for the virus, which has sickened dogs in kennels and dog tracks in several states. It was first found among greyhounds at a racetrack in Florida in 2004.

The Oregon sample, submitted last week by Zoe Tokar, a Portland veterinarian, was from a 4-year-old female dog that showed signs of fever, coughing and lethargy.

Oregon officials are awaiting results on 12 other blood samples taken at the Multnomah County Animal Shelter.

Dubovi said other states reporting positive samples include Florida, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts. He expects the list to grow this week, as the lab begins processing more samples.

Health officials say the appearance of a horse flu in dogs is a reminder about how swiftly and unpredictably the flu virus can move between species.

A deadly bird flu that has infected scores of people in Asia is being closely monitored. The avian virus does not spread from person to person, however, and there is no evidence of the dog virus spreading to humans.

Still, dog owners in Oregon should be alert for the symptoms, said Dr. Emilio DeBess, Oregon state public health veterinarian.

The canine influenza is difficult to distinguish from a common respiratory illness called kennel cough, caused mainly by the Bordetella bronchiseptica bacteria related to whooping cough in humans.

Robert Franklin, a veterinary internist who operates Oregon Veterinary Specialty Clinic in the Portland suburb of Raleigh Hills, said the initial symptoms for both diseases involve a dry hacking cough that eventually can develop into pneumonia.

About 80 percent of infected dogs who get the viral disease have only a mild illness, including a cough with nasal discharge that runs its course within a week or two, veterinarians say.

Cynda Crawford, a University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine immunologist who contributed to the study published in Science, estimates the death rate at 5 percent to 8 percent.

Of those dogs infected, about 20 percent show no sign of illness, but can pass the disease to other dogs. So far, there is no vaccine to prevent the spread of the illness.