H1N1 virus and Canine infection - Page 1

 Of interest to dog owners and FYI:

Date: Mon 21 Dec 2009
Source: American Veterinary Medical Association

http://www.avma.org/public_health/influenza/new_virus/default.asp

On 21 Dec 2009, IDEXX Laboratories confirmed 2009 H1N1 influenza
virus in a dog in Bedford Hills, New York.

A 13-year-old dog became ill after its owner was ill with confirmed
2009 H1N1 influenza. The dog was lethargic, coughing, not eating, and
had a fever. Radiographs (x-rays) showed evidence of pneumonia. The
dog was treated with intravenous fluids, antibiotics, nebulization,
and other supportive care, and was discharged from the hospital after
48 hours of care. It is currently recovering. Tests submitted to
IDEXX Laboratories were negative for canine influenza (H3N8) but
positive for 2009 H1N1 influenza. The results were confirmed by the
Iowa State Laboratory.

Read the press release at:
http://www.idexx.com/view/xhtml/en_us/smallanimal/2009/h1n1-alert.jsf

and the case notes at:
http://www.idexx.com/view/xhtml/en_us/smallanimal/education/reference-library/case-studies/h1n1case-study.jsf

I recently heard reports that the H1N1 has been crowding out the regular seasonal flu in humans.
I thought that was interesting.

 Hi Moons, 

In my part of the country, H1N1 influenza has indeed been the predominant circulating virus, coming much earlier than the normal seasonal flu might. We will see what round two and three brings....... Hopefully, it will be mild, although clearly in certain age groups, the H1N1 has wreaked havoc.

Merry Christmas. Waiting for a snow storm......ugh.......

I'm afraid all I'm going to have is rain..........:(

I think the report pointed out that once exposed to H1N1, your anti-bodies would be strong enough that the usual seasonal flu could not find a niche to grow.

I dunno, these things have a life of their own and I agree you never know whats to come.

 Moons,

The two viruses are very different and actually, though in older adults like you and me, there is some small evidence for some cross-over immunity. But to say that a seasonal flu cannot take hold if one has had or been exposed to H1N1 is not correct. Influenza viruses are very interesting in that they have a relatively unique ability to mutate, combine with other influenza viruses, sometimes crossing species, and these changes can occur rapidly. They are one of my favorite subjects to study. But, they are definitely my least favorite illnesses. I was unfortunate enough to have the Hong Kong variety in 1968 and though a healthy, strong young woman, it almost killed me! I was down for the count for more than three weeks, in bed, high fever, pneumonia, etc. I could not even sit up to pour a glass of juice left at my bedside. I hope I am never so ill again.

If you want snow, drive this way.... LOL. I would take the rain if there was no wind....

 This is fascinating.  Thanks for sharing it hodie.  

I wonder if drug companies would find it worthwhile to develop an H1N1 vaccine for dogs.  I'm not too worried about my guy, since I'm vaccinated and therefore couldn't pass it along to him, but it might be worth pursuing.

Fascinating virus, too.  They certainly are tough, adaptable things!

At present, the number of cases on H1N1 being passed from humans to their animals (cats, dogs and pigs) is very low. IF this particular influenza became a serious threat to animals, the vaccine producers would look at producing a vaccine. But one must remember that to produce a vaccine still takes a year or perhaps more, depending on the technology involved, that most, if not all vaccine manufacturers are already busy producing other vaccines and most can only make one type at a time,  AND, one must be able to count on a market to thusly expend millions and millions of dollars and get that back from sales. This was exactly the issue with so many of the bioweapon vaccines that the government wanted developed. No one would do it for a lot of reasons. Another reason is gaining some sort of immunity from lawsuit. What company in their right mind wants to develop a vaccine, and even though in the huge majority of cases it will be safe for almost all of the given population, there will always be a very small number of people (animals) who will have adverse effects. In our sue happy society, that exposes the makers to lawsuit. Juries tend to be nuts these days and award incredibly ridiculous sums of money, tie up the company in battles for years etc., over any adverse effect.  So no company is eager to jump in. And of course, in this current situation, it is tough to make enough doses for the people on the planet. So at this point, I don't see it happening that a vaccine will be developed for cats and dogs (I think there is one already for swine). As it is, there is a new vaccine for the Canine Influenza, and, at least in my area, that vaccine is rarely used and probably for good reason as the disease has not been terribly prevalent.

My own advice is that if one is ill with any virus, it always makes good sense to do what one can to prevent the transmission of that virus to others, including humans and pets. The common sense approach, washing hands frequently, disinfecting surfaces, not sneezing/coughing freely into air and some of the other suggestions all make good sense I think.

Jackal, just because one is vaccinated and does not develop a particular virus does not necessarily mean that same individual cannot be carrying the virus. But again, since the number of cases of H1N1 in companion animals to date is very small, I would not worry too much about this. There ARE other canine diseases that your dog is much more likely to be exposed to if in the wrong place. But if the dog is vaccinated for those diseases, hopefully there will be no issue at all. This includes rabies which is still a problem in various parts of the United States, not to mention other nations on the planet.

Too funny, Mystere! Minimize the risk to your DOGS....your priorities are straight, too! 

VomMarischal, I am thinking along those lines also, take care of the dogs. If my mothers rott picked this up, would not be good for anyone. Both of them are up in age, and for my Mom to lose her dog, scares the life out of me. I keep telling her that there is another dog out there that needs a home, so many of them are being "thrown away". So she would have to stay with us to give another one a home, and most do not want elderly dogs. She lost her husband this year, and I am just not sure she could handle losing her dog too.