DAVIS, Calif. — A mysterious respiratory illness has been getting dogs sick over the past year and has now made its way to California, according to officials.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health released a statement Tuesday about 10 reported cases of what’s currently being called "Atypical Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease" (aCIRD). This is the first report of this illness in California as it had previously only been found in a handful of other states across the country.
While officials warn dog owners not to sound the alarm just yet, there are some things people with pooches should know.
Karl Jandrey, a professor of veterinary emergency and critical care medicine at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, said affected dogs have “a very vague cluster of symptoms that are very nonspecific, but all very related to classic respiratory illness in dogs.”
Illnesses like kennel cough which comes with symptoms like lethargy, wet and/or dry cough and potential development into pneumonia, malaise or not eating.
Jandrey said there have been no reports of or suspicion of these illnesses being transmitted to or from anything other than dogs.
He said officials have been aware of the illness and studying it for the last year, but they have not been able to identify if it was a virus or bacteria yet.
“We're collecting a lot of data and the information is changing kind of on a daily basis,” he said. “We (don’t) know much about how long it takes from exposure to actually showing the signs of illness.”
He said many of the reports suggest dogs with the infection have a mild cough or other symptoms about three to eight weeks before potentially having more serious symptoms.
"Veterinarians are uncertain about the cause but emphasize treating symptoms while collaborating to identify the root of the illness. Unfortunately, deaths have occurred, yet quantifying the impact is challenging due to the lack of a clear definition or test for the disease," said the Broadway Veterinary Hospital in a statement.
As we head into the holiday travel season, Jandrey said dog owners should be cautious about taking their pets traveling or leaving them in a doggy daycare if possible.
“Movement of people with their animals certainly can perpetuate the spread… We could be good-hearted in the thought that we want to bring our animals with us, but at the same time, that's a risky move,” he said. “That's the common sense of doing right by the public health as opposed to just the comfort for you and your pet over the holiday time.”
What to do if your dog has symptoms
Jandrey said officials and the public learned a lot about respiratory illnesses and spread because of COVID.
While it’s hard (or impossible) to get a dog to wear a mask, he strongly encourages putting symptomatic dogs in their own isolated room with good air ventilation to keep the potential airborne illness away from other dogs.
Other things to do when seeing symptoms:
- Seek veterinary attention
- Isolate the “most sick” dog from the least sick or not sick for at least 28 days
- Monitor your dog's energy levels and appetite
- Regularly disinfect and clean shared surfaces
- Separate communal items like dog toys, water bowls, etc. if there’s more than one dog in the home
Ways to keep lessen exposure chances:
- Regularly disinfect and clean surfaces
- Separate communal items like dog toys, water bowls, etc. if there’s more than one dog in the home
- Avoid confined spaces with a lack of ventilation and/or close interaction with other dogs at a nose-to-nose level (i.e. doggy daycare, animal shelter, dog parks)
- Stay away from dogs that potentially have had any respiratory illness
WATCH MORE: UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine professor talks mysterious illness sickening dogs | Interview
