An enigmatic illness has been leaving paw prints of dismay across the nation as vets wave the red flag about a mystery respiratory disease targeting a man's best friend. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the illness has been resistant to antibiotics, and cases have spiked across at least a dozen states, including Illinois, propelling pet parents to keep a leash on their holiday plans.
With symptoms ranging from persistent coughs to sneezes and eye discharge, Dr. Kelly Cairns of Thrive Pet Healthcare confessed to the Sun-Times, "We don’t know what’s causing this particular respiratory illness in dogs," indicating a diagnostic dead-end despite testing for common viruses and bacteria. Yet, hope on the horizon glimmers as researchers at the University of New Hampshire's Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and the Hubbard Center for Genome Studies believe to have identified a microscopic troublemaker behind the canine debacle as reported by NBC News.
A tiny aberrant bacterium has been pinpointed by scientists who sleuthed through genetic sequences from sickened New Hampshire dogs last year and their Rhode Island and Massachusetts counterparts this year. Dr. David Needle articulated to NBC News, "It’s a weird bacterium that can be tough to find and sequence," likening it to a wily bacterium that possibly sprouted from a dog's own microbiome.
Dog owners have been left coughing up concerns, as the canine contagion has the potential to derail not only dog park frolics but also holiday spirits. While researchers have been on the tail end of the elusive germ for a year, they remain hounded by the question of whether this microscopic scoundrel is the same one dogging pets across the map. With tragedies in the mix, Oregon has reported over 200 cases, and the infection has reportedly been connected to severe pneumonia and untimely deaths, as Kurt Williams, the Oregon Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory director, told NBC News.
While the vets marshal forces to discourage doggy social mixers and remind owners to maintain vaccinations, the drumbeat of caution echoes across the pet care community. Logically, reducing contact with other dogs, especially the sniffly sort, seems prudent. Yet, as Dr. Needle advised NBC News, there hasn't been a "large increase in dogs dying from the illness" but still champions the creed, "decrease contact with other dogs." The path forward for pet parents looks to be threaded with both caution and a commitment to keeping Fido's shots up-to-date.
