The San Francisco SPCA recently announced that there was a dog flu outbreak in the Bay area. They encouraged pet owners to take their dogs to the veterinarian if they have any symptoms. California is one of the states that has a dog flu outbreak.
According to Cornell University of Veterinary Medicine, 45 dogs have developed the dog flu. Dogs are being diagnosed with H3N2 flu, which is the same strain of flu that has affected thousands of humans around the country. However, the virus affects humans and dogs differently. It is not possible for a dog to give a human the flu or vice versa.
Amy Glaser works for the Animal Health Diagnostic Center in Cornell. She stated that dog flu cases have only been reported in California, Kentucky, and Ohio. However, it is important to note that dog flu can transmit quickly in kennels, households with multiple dogs, and other places where multiple dogs hang out.
Michael Topper is the president of the American Veterinary Medical Association. He stated that there have been false reports of widespread dog flu activity in 46 states. While there have been cases reported in other states, that does not mean that there is widespread dog flu activity.
Dog flu can occur at any time of the year. Michael stated that pet owners should ignore the dog flu headlines. However, they do need to watch out for dog flu. Dogs can transmit the flu by playing with other dogs and barking. The vast majority of dogs are able to recover within a few weeks.
However, some people will develop complications after suffering from the flu. Less than 10 percent of dogs will die from the dog flu. Most of the dogs who die from it are elderly, very young, or have underlying health problems.
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