A dangerous new strain of dog flu is spreading throughout the country as it infect more dogs, a dog in Montana recently tested positive for the highly contagious virus, and the Washington state health department is warning pet owners after possible exposure at a Seattle-area kennel.
The H3N2 dog flu started in Chicago and is now causing major concerns as an outbreak spreads out.
The Seattle and King County health department posted on their Facebook account the symptoms of the deadly flu.
The emergency situation has been declared in December when the Kent kennel received and treated 80 dogs infected with the new strain of flu. It is not known how canine H3N2 virus was introduced into the United States. Canine influenza A H3N2 virus was first detected in dogs in South Korea in 2007.
If your dog has symptoms, Health officials recommends calling your vet immediately. However, do not take your dog to the vet office without calling ahead of time because the virus is highly contagious.
Here are the signs and symptoms?
- The dog flu is like the human flu
- coughing
- weakness
- lack of appetite
- fever
- dogs may become lethargic
Dogs are typically ill within 24 hours of exposure.
Humans can't contract the virus, but they could spread it to healthy dogs after close contact with an infected dog.
