Canine Influenza Returns? Should We Vaccinate?

Recent reports of a canine influenza outbreak in Texas got me thinking about our vaccine protocol.   Last week's outbreak was in a dog track Southeast of Houston and has sickened nearly 100 dogs with six deaths.  Most reports of other infected dogs over the last year seem to be in Texas, Florida, New York, Colorado and Southern California. The Canine Influenza virus is out there but is not "sweeping the country".

When initial reports of Canine Influenza surfaced in 2004 we were worried.  When a vaccine became available in 2009 we started vaccinating dogs that we felt were at risk. Because of the low incidence of Canine Influenza in Wisconsin, we no longer offer the vaccine. That could Change if new outbreaks occur locally.

Just to be clear, Canine Influenza is a dog virus and does not transmit to people. The reason we were so concerned is that very high mortality was reported in some of the initial outbreaks at dog racetracks.  Sick dogs were bleeding in their lungs (hemorrhagic pneumonia) and many died.  Now we know the bleeding was caused by a secondary bacterial infection with streptococcal bacteria, possibly related to the raw horse meat that many racing Greyhounds were fed.

Symptoms include coughing, vomiting, fever, not eating and lethargy.  These symptoms are the same as most of the other viruses that cause what some call  "contagious canine cough complex".  These viruses are transmitted by close contact with infected dogs. Day care, dog parks, boarding kennels, grooming facilities - anywhere there is nose to nose contact between dogs. If you want your dog to be a dog, these situations are unavoidable.

I do recommend vaccinating with the Bordetella/Parainfluenza (kennel cough) vaccine if your dog is at risk (dog park, day care, etc). Bordetella/Parainfluenza is much more common in Wisconsin than Canine Influenza.

So, what do I do when a coughing dog comes to see me? After a complete physical exam I will typically:

• Offer a PCR test that checks for several of the viral causes of "contagious canine cough complex". 
• If the heart or lungs sound abnormal, offer a chest radiograph (X-ray) to look for pneumonia or heart disease.
• Prescribe a cough suppressant (for comfort) if no pneumonia.
• Prescribe antibiotics if there are signs of secondary bacterial infection. 
• Keep the coughing dog away from other dogs!

Antibiotics are not always the answer since most of these cases are caused by viruses and antibiotics treat bacteria. Usually we need to make the dog comfortable by suppressing the cough and let the body's immune system deal with fighting the virus.

We will continue to monitor Canine Influenza outbreaks around the country and it is possible that we could start recommending Canine Influenza Vaccine at some point in the future, but right now it just doesn't seem to be necessary for the majority of our patients. Let us know if you will be taking your dog to visit a racetrack in Texas and we will discuss vaccination for Canine Influenza and Kennel Cough!

Here is a great link for more info about Canine Influenza Virus
http://www.avma.org/public_health/influenza/canine_bgnd.asp