There is an outbreak of canine influenza in the midwest

[undeterred]

It was announced last week that at least 1000 dogs in the Chicago area have been diagnosed with the flu and that 5 have died. There has been one confirmed case in Wisconsin.

Today they announced the following: The outbreak of K9 flu is not the more common H3N8 strain. Cornell and Wisconsin vets schools have determined that it is H3N2, previously unknown outside Asia. H3N2 is far more vicious than H3N8. Infected dogs get sick faster, and it also affects cats. (H3N8 does not.) Like human flu, it is highly contagious. It causes lots of coughing and difficulty breathing. It can be deadly if it's not treated. Worst of all, there's no vaccine for it. Doctors are cross-testing it with the existing H3N8 vaccine to see if there's any overlap.

Today I got my dog vaccinated for the H3N8 strain, which is the only vaccine available. Its a two part vaccine so I have to bring him back for the booster in 3 weeks.

My dog is not a puppy or old - he is 7 and very healthy so he would probably survive the flu. However he goes to dog parks, daycare, and occasionally boards in a kennel - so his chances of coming into contact with an infected dog would be greater than for most dogs. My vet recommended the vaccine, even though its for a different strain... the flu vaccine that humans get is usually not made from the flu thats going around the same season. They are hoping it would provide some immunity.

I have not heard of a vaccine for cats.

This could turn into a pretty big deal, so watch the news for it in your part of the country.

http://www.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2015/04/13/the-dog-flu-news-gets-worse-for-chicago-pets

http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Researchers-Say-Chicago-Area-Dog-Flu-Caused-by-Virus-Never-Seen-in-US-Before-299572631.html

[fadedrose]

1. K

[Laffy Kat]

2. Had not heard about this 'til now.

Thanks. No dog parks for a while.

[840high]

3. One Georgia shelter shut down, too.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

4. Our friends had us pull their dog out of bording for Easter weekend.

Our friends went out of town and dropped their dog off at the chicago kennel on good Friday. Six hours later they received an email saying here was kennel cough going around. So we grabbed their dog. By the end of the day, the threat was upgraded to canine influenza and they had some cases.

We got lucky their dog didn't get it in the six ours he was there and infect our dog.

Last I heard, the kennel/day care was shut down.

[HereSince1628]

5. There is also an outbreak of bird flu...after killing ~million turkeys it has spread to chickens

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/wisconsin-records-1st-outbreak-dangerous-bird-flu-strain-30280906

A dangerous bird-flu strain that has already hit numerous turkey farms in the Midwest has now been identified in a Wisconsin chicken flock, marking the first case of the virus in a commercial chicken farm in the U.S. and its first appearance in Wisconsin, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Monday.

Authorities stressed there was no risk to public health and no danger to the food supply from the highly pathogenic H5N2 strain, which was first detected in the region in Minnesota early last month. Animal health officials have long said the virus is dangerous to all commercial poultry. The only surprise of it turning up in chickens is that it took so long, said Raechelle Cline, a spokeswoman for Wisconsin's agriculture department.

The USDA said tests confirmed that a flock of about 200,000 chickens in Jefferson County, in southeastern Wisconsin, has been infected. About 20,000 chickens have already died from the disease, and the remaining 180,000 will be killed to help prevent the disease from spreading, according to the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

The disease has cost turkey producers more than 1.2 million birds across the Midwest — including more than 900,000 in Minnesota, the nation's No. 1 turkey-producing state. Still, that only accounts for about 0.5 percent of the 235 million turkeys produced nationally in 2014. The disease has also struck farms in Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, South Dakota and North Dakota since early March. The Minnesota Turkey Growers Association on Monday estimated the dollar value of turkeys lost in the state at $15.7 million.

[question everything]

6. kick. Was a reported on ABC news

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/canine-flu-outbreak-sickens-hundreds-dogs-midwest-30347163