another Dog Flu outbreak /dogs euthanized / be careful

[gunner]

Yahoo! 360º

CHEYENNE - In a heartbreaking turn of events, officials announced
Monday that all of the 75 to 80 dogs at the Cheyenne Animal Shelter
will be euthanized to curb the spread of highly contagious canine
influenza.

That is not all. These cases marked the first detected cases of the
potentially lethal infection in the state of Wyoming, and officials
say this is only the beginning.

"It's going through the community," said Gary Norwood, a
veterinarian at Frontier Animal Clinic, "and all of our dogs are
totally na‹ve."

Officials also are warning the Cheyenne area to take action to
protect their dogs from the disease by isolating them for the next
few weeks.

Many local Cheyenne veterinary clinics saw their first cases last
week, Norwood said. The virus cannot infect humans or cats, but it
infects all dogs that come into contact with it. It isn't necessary
for dogs to touch each other - the virus can spread through the air
and can hitch a ride on clothing or hands.

Though the vast majority of dogs will recover from the infection or
never develop symptoms at all, some 3 to 10 percent will die, he
said. In some cases already, dogs that were happy and frisky in the
morning were dying by nightfall and dead within 24 hours.

At Frontier Animal Clinic, there have been three cases as of Monday,
and one of them died rapidly. But Norwood urged calm and caution.

"For 95 percent of cases, the dog's going to recover just fine," he
said. "People need to not panic. Respect that this virus has entered
our community. Use logic. Use hygiene. This virus is susceptible to
normal hygiene procedures."

Cheyenne Animal Shelter staff and city officials made the
announcement about the euthanization at an emotionally charged
meeting at the Cheyenne City Council chambers Monday night.

Many questioned the shelter's decision. But Dr. Walt Cook, the
assistant state veterinarian, asked for a show of hands of
veterinarians at the meeting who thought it was the right thing to
do. All four supported the decision.

"As regrettable as this is, I think this is the most reasonable
decision, and I commend it," he said.

The outbreak began, according to shelter records, a little over
three weeks ago, when staff began to notice symptoms in the dogs
that made them think they had kennel cough, a mild, but common
infection in dogs caused by a bacterium unrelated to influenza.

Three days after the first symptoms were noted, said Michelle
Hazzard, shelter spokeswoman, Adoption Kennel 1 was closed on April
11. On April 17, the rest of the adoption kennels were closed and
all adoptions halted.

After doing some research, the staff became concerned it might be
canine influenza and sent five samples - one of which was a control -
to an expert in Florida for testing. Four of the samples came back
positive on Friday.

In the meantime, the disease had been spreading rapidly and easily
between dogs who'd had even minimal contact with other dogs. Four
dogs died. Age didn't matter. One dog looked fine on Friday morning,
fell ill, was given treatment and still died in less than 24 hours.

On Sunday, the shelter's board of directors met with Norwood and
David Barber, a veterinarian who works as an environmental
epidemiologist for the Wyoming Department of Health.

Given the contagiousness of the disease, they considered two
options, said Jim Hathaway, the shelter's veterinarian.

One was to try to isolate every dog in the shelter in different
housing facilities in alternate locations. The second was to
euthanize all the animals.

The clincher, he said, was the fact that some 20 percent of dogs
that are infected and shedding the virus do not display symptoms.
After seven to 10 days, if they have not died they are no longer
shedding the disease. In addition, dogs that have recovered from
infection retain very little immunity and can be re-infected.

But because there's no rapid test to see which dogs are infected and
which aren't, they said, it is impossible to tell which dogs are
infected without symptoms.

"That is something none of us wants to do, but at this point it
seems the best thing we have come up with," Hathaway said.

One meeting attendee thought this course of action was "a very rash
and heartless decision."

But the new director of the animal shelter, Alan Cohen, said he
could not in good conscience do otherwise.

"If we do not euthanize these animals, we cannot guarantee these
animals will not re-infect themselves and other animals," he
said. "If I do not euthanize these animals, how can I let them loose
knowing they might spread it to the community? If we don't stop
these 70, they may serve as vectors to spread it to the entire
community."

Board President Tim LaHiff said that because he felt it wasn't right
to ask shelter staff to euthanize the dogs because of their
emotional attachments, he has asked local veterinarians to
volunteer. He said no decision has yet been made about when the dogs
will be put down.

In the meantime, incoming strays are being taken to a separate
location, and the staff has plans to scrub and sterilize the
shelter, consult with other shelters and see what structural changes
can be made to help prevent an outbreak from spreading again within
the shelter. It will be more than a week after the last dogs are
gone before the shelter could be opened to dogs once more.

Cats, which are not affected by the virus, are being kept within the
shelter, but no adoptions are being allowed.

Misty Courtney, a kennel technician at the shelter for a little over
four months, strongly disagreed with the shelter's decision and said
she will not return to work there because of it. She thought the
symptoms had been going on for much longer than a few weeks and
questioned why tests weren't done sooner.

She said she understood the idea of killing animals to prevent
disease. But she said no one would consider such a solution for
human patients at a hospital, and she said she felt dogs should be
treated with the same respect.

Courtney said that at a meeting called at the shelter on Sunday
announcing the decision, some staff began crying when they heard the
news. Some had to walk out.

It was particularly hard, she said, because many of the dogs are
only showing mild symptoms.

After the meeting, she stopped by the adoption kennels where the
dogs were. They wagged their tails when they recognized her.

"I almost lost it," she said. "I wanted to take them and escape."


Preventing dog flu

For the next few weeks, vets are urging pet owners to take
precautions to avoid canine influenza, which spreads by salivary
secretions or airborne particles. They include:


• Don't take your dog to places where other dogs are found. Avoid
parks or the Greenway.


• Though people can't be infected, they can transmit the virus
between dogs. To help prevent this, dog owners should avoid contact
with other dogs. If you visit a neighbor and discover their dog is
sick, change clothes and wash your hands with soap and water before
interacting with your own dog.


• Though the virus is highly contagious, it's very fragile and can't
survive for long outside its host. In addition to soap and water,
mild bleach solutions will kill it.


• Make sure your dog has proper identification and rabies tags. If
it gets lost and is picked up by Animal Control, they can return it
directly to the owner instead of taking it to a holding area or the
shelter, where it may interact with other infected dogs.


• If you own two dogs and one falls ill, separate them.


• If your dog exhibits coughing and another symptom such as
sneezing, congestion, lethargy or loss of appetite, call your
veterinarian immediately. Don't take the dog to the clinic without
calling first, or you may spread the disease to other dogs.

[Wagonmaster]

hey gunner. good to hear you.

believe it or not, i saw that yesterday, and my dog just came from Cheyenne by plane the day before. he got his health certificate at the clinic quoted in the article, just last week. and he had some diarrhea when he got here. but luckily, so far, it appears to have just been airsickness, and he is doing fine. vet said watch him though. i am glad he is outta there for awhile.

[GSP4619]

Oh WoW glad for you he is out of their also.

[original mngsp]

John

I hope Spot does fine and just has some airsickness/nerves. He had a nice season for you and Eldon the past few months.

[Wagonmaster]

he is fine today, just some runs from the flight. stool is firming up. Cheyenne friends tell me the problem is viewed as being a little overblown out there.

Spot presently gets to sleep on the bed. His favorite position being upside down so his neck can be stroked. He is liking the vacation already. Has muscles on his muscles in the rear. Is being picked on by his sister.

[GSP4619]

awww LOL cute

[gunner]

more dog flu? Oklahoma. From the fieldtrialdog site.

It seems that the recent outbreak of dog flu "might" have come to
Oklahoma. Gary Young of Lawton had his good young Shadow-bred derby
home from the trainer two weeks, when he developed a bit of lethargy
and a cough. Did not appear to be too bad but Gary took him to the vet
monday. The dog died on the examination table. Gary had not heard of
the recent flu outbreak among dogs and if his vet had an inkling, it
was not mentioned. No autopsy was attempted.
(bob shelton)