Canine flu in a new package

Canine flu in a new package


If you’re a pooch parent, you may have heard of canine influenza. But let’s take a look at its newer, badder cousin.

This spring, lots of dogs in the Chicago area came down with a serious respiratory illness. While it looked like a bad case of kennel cough from the typical H3N8 canine influenza virus, these dogs got quite a bit sicker. The culprit turned out to be an Asian virus, H3N2, which had found its way into the United States.

While this virus is not infectious to humans, it spreads with ease among dogs. And the vaccine developed against the typical canine influenza virus is not effective against this powerful new variant.

So if you hear that the H3N2 canine influenza virus is making dogs sick where you live, steer clear of dog parks, doggie day care or other canine hot spots.

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