Epidemic Burst Fade Out: New flu killing dogs and cats! Blame Metro-sexual areas?

04AUG2018 (15:05 UTC-07 Tango 06) 13 Mordad 1397/22 Dhu l-Qa’da 1439/23 Geng-Shen 4716

New York might be ground zero for an epidemic of a new version of Influenza A subtype H3N2 flu now targeting dogs, called H3N2 canine influenza virus (CIV).

H3N2 was first identified in 1968, evolving from H2N2. By 2007 a version of H3N2 evolved (mutated) into one of three swine flus. H3N2 CIV first showed up China and Korea in 2005. CIV first appeared in the United States in 2015. (H3N8 is another form of CIV) In 2016, the U.S. strain of H3N2 CIV evolved to infect cats.

In June, the U.S. state of Arkansas began reporting cases of CIV there. And in New York, New York City reported 1-hundred cases of CIV.

Oakland County currently has the highest rate of CIV in the U.S. state of Michigan, with 49 confirmed cases so far. And so far this year Michigan has 98 confirmed cases of dog flu, last year there were only nine cases of dog flu.

Connecticut is also reporting dog flu cases, and dog owners are being told to keep their dogs away from doggie daycares and pet groomers, avoid other dogs, and get them vaccinated.

Veterinarians say CIV can survive on your hands for 12 hours, on your clothes for 24 hours and a dog bowl for 48 hours. Typical signs of CIV are just like human flu infections; lethargy, fever, boogery nose. Most local news media report CIV is not fatal, however some local news media are calling it fatal. In January 2018 (in the middle of the 2017-18 flu season) some news media reports warned of a possible dog flu epidemic in the future, while others downplayed the possibility. However, in August of 2017 veterinarians warned of increasing cases of CIV during Summer months. To show you that CIV is expected to get worse, greedy vaccine investment analysts did research that predicts increasing CIV outbreaks worldwide until 2028 (thus creating a lucrative market for profit seekers).

At the end of July 2018, the Journal of Virology published an ‘epidemic burst-fade-out’ study blaming recurring cases of H3N2 CIV on high population density areas, saying “CIV must therefore rely on metapopulations of high host density (such as animal shelters and kennels) within the greater dog population and reintroduction from other populations or face complete epidemic extinction.” In other words, if dog owners live in a highly populated area they are inadvertently keeping the CIV alive and well.

Veterinarians say dogs that die while infected with CIV are dying from secondary diseases, the result of their immune systems being weakened by CIV. But some cats are being directly killed by ‘cat flu’.

A possible latest victim is an adult cat who was about to be given an award for saving the life of its owner. In United Kingdom, Theo died one week before an award ceremony honoring him for saving his owner from a blood clot. News media say no official cause has been announced in the cat’s death, but that the owner took the cat in when it was a kitten and infected with cat flu.

It seems the United Kingdom is being hit hard with an epidemic of cat flu (there are lots of reports of hundreds of abandoned cats who are sick, there’s even a case of sick kittens being dumped by overwhelmed animal control officers).

‘Cat flu’ is not necessarily an influenza, the name comes from the symptoms which can be caused by several types of viruses and even bacteria.

In Australia, warnings of the reemergence of ‘cat plague’ virus, called feline panleukopenia. It’s being found in abandoned kittens and has veterinarians urging cat owners to get their cats vaccinated. Last year there were reports of the deadly feline calicivirus, also referred to as a cat flu, which has a 40% kill rate.

In South Africa, the Boksburg SPCA is warning dog owners after a puppy had to be put down due to a severe case of what South Africans call ‘cat flu’ (which is actually canine parvo-virus). Boksburg SPCA manager blames the pet shop where the puppy was bought: “These animals appear to be healthy but can be incubating a disease which can manifest once the pet has been purchased. You then usually end up with a very sick animal that usually dies.”-Maggie Mudd

In the U.S. state of Idaho a Elmore County cat died, in July this year, from plague commonly found in rodents. In June another cat in the same county got sick with plague but recovered. A human child (also in Elmore County) got sick with plague in May (also recovered).

In Connecticut, the VCA Cheshire Animal Hospital reported two cats died from H1N1 influenza (swine flu), despite advanced in-hospital care: “Cats can catch the flu from people.”-Anthony Pierlioni

In Florida, the Bay County Animal Shelter had to halt adoptions at the beginning of July, due to an outbreak of ‘cat flu’ (upper respiratory infection).

In New Jersey, the Saint Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center rescued more than 172 cats in July, the most in its operational history. Most of the cats had to undergo medical treatment for infections and physical conditions.

Metro: 4 common illnesses that could be making your cat sick

SeattlePI: Cat-born parasite may prompt people to start businesses

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Fox News: Woman scams casino to pay off sick cat’s vet bill

WJLA: Maryland woman spends $19000 on kidney donor for sick cat

Medical News Today: Could ‘dog flu’ be the next pandemic?

Agri-Pulse: USDA training dogs to sniff out bird flu outbreaks

Science News for Students: Dogs carry a grab bag of flu viruses

Scientific American: Ancient Dog DNA Reveals Close Relationship with Contagious Cancer

KABC-TV: Wisconsin man loses both legs and hands after being licked by dog

WebMD: Dog Illness Can Spread to Humans