Mystery dog illness hasn’t been reported in the Bay Area, what to know

The mystery respiratory illness affecting dogs across the country has no confirmed reports in Northern California, experts at UC Davis said. Dog owners in the San Francisco Bay Area can continue to take their pets to dog parks and board them in pet hotels while monitoring their animal’s health.

With symptoms similar to kennel cough or a normal cold, the illness has veterinarians stumped. They aren’t sure what exactly is infecting dogs and if the reported illnesses across the country are the same or different infections but related.  

“We don’t have enough knowledge yet or haven’t developed the tools yet to figure it out. So I think that’s what’s making people frustrated,” Karl Jandrey, UC Davis professor of veterinary emergency and critical care, told SFGATE. 

The mystery illness has been detected in 14 states including Oregon and New Hampshire, as well as Southern California, among others, Rena Carlson, president of the American Veterinary Medical Association, said in a statement provided to SFGATE. 

Both Jandery and Jonathan David Dear, UC Davis associate professor of veterinary medicine, said they haven’t encountered any dogs with the illness at Davis’ veterinary hospital, one of the largest in the world. “I haven’t had any calls from anyone about dogs they’re concerned about in the Bay Area or Northern California specifically,” Dear said. “This isn’t something we need to be specifically, urgently concerned about.”

Veterinarians are calling the illness a mystery because the bacteria that causes it is behaving unusually in lab tests, Jandrey said. 

“There’s a small number of cases popping up in different places all over the country,” he said. “People are trying to work together to get some answers, but I think we’re still really in the dark as to what it really is and what its origin may be.” 

While the clinical symptoms of the illness are similar to most respiratory diseases seen in dogs, veterinary tests of the bacteria have resulted in a negative test for common viruses, according to a recent report from the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at the University of New Hampshire. 

The illness includes the following symptoms, Jandrey said. If any are significant enough to affect the quality of the dog’s life, he urges pet owners to consult a veterinarian and have their dog undergo a physical examination and tests. 

• Runny nose
• Runny eyes
• Decreased appetite
• Reduced activity
• Increased or difficulty breathing
• Progressive cough
• Cough that turns from dry to wet

In her statement, Carlson said the Oregon Department of Agriculture has tracked at least one of the three following symptoms in the roughly 200 cases reported in the state since mid-August.

• Chronic mild-moderate tracheobronchitis (inflammation of the windpipe and lung passageways) that lasts six to eight weeks or longer and is unresponsive to antibiotics.
• Chronic pneumonia that doesn’t respond to antibiotics
• Acute pneumonia that becomes severe within 24-36 hours of being sick

Dogs showing symptoms associated with the mystery disease could have “kennel cough,” Dear said. It is often spread when dogs congregate in large numbers and causes a “honking” cough, fever and runny nose, according to the American Kennel Club.  

Jandery said the patchy and sporadic spread of the illness in different regions of the country is puzzling veterinarians because it doesn’t suggest a well-defined pattern. 

“It’s not very widespread. It’s not that severe,” he said. “There has been some morbidity and random occasional mortality in the ones who have been ill.”

Scientists don’t know if all the reported illnesses are connected. The respiratory illness in California, for example, could be completely different from that in New Hampshire.

Potential cases in Southern California are currently low, with Los Angeles County officials receiving at least 10 reports of dogs who may have the illness, ABC7 News reported. Though the dogs in question are sick, they’re testing negative for common viruses and bacteria that produce similar symptoms.

“That’s 10 dogs amongst the population of many tens of millions of people in Southern California. There’s going to be at least a couple million dogs there,” Jandery said. “I would say it’s uncommon, on top of being patchy and sporadic.” 

At the San Francisco Animal Care and Control shelter, spokesperson Deb Campbell told SFGATE there haven’t been any signs of outbreaks or illnesses. 

Jennifer Scarlett, CEO and veterinarian at the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), told SFGATE in an email she hasn’t seen an increase in respiratory disease or unusual cases at the nonprofit organization that includes a local hospital and adoption center.

“Most likely, what is happening is an increase in one or a combination of the usual pathogens with a whole lot more media attention,” Scarlett said. 

Jandery said scientists are still trying to figure out how the illness is transmitted but many respiratory illnesses spread through coughing. 

Dogs are especially prone to getting sick in the winter months when cold, wet weather brings them indoors where coughs spread more easily. The SPCA facilities often see spikes in disease in winter, especially in areas where dogs are crowded, Scarlett said.

As for human transmission, the risk of people getting sick from the respiratory disease is “extremely low.” 

“However, because we don’t know yet exactly what agent or agents are causing the current outbreak, it’s a good idea to thoroughly wash your hands after handling your or other dogs,” Rena said in the statement from the Veterinary Medical Association. 

At the San Francisco Animal Care and Control shelter, Campbell said staff members aren’t doing anything differently, but they always isolate any animals showing signs of illness and treat them accordingly.

At the SPCA facilities, staff members are taking extra precautions despite not having any reported illnesses. Scarlett said the organization is asking clients to separate dogs with any coughing or respiratory symptoms and remove group watering bowls. In addition to keeping up with vaccines, she said dogs shouldn’t share toys.

Jandery said going to dog parks and other gatherings is still considered low-risk but it’s important to be cautious and monitor your pet’s health.

“People at this point are going to have to use their best judgment of course, you can’t live your life in fear,” he said. “You have to still walk your dog and you’re still going to have to let the dog exercise and be the dog it wants to be. But you also have to have that air of caution about you and to say okay, maybe I don’t want to hang out at a new dog park with a bunch of new dogs.”

He said as experts look for more answers, people should be diligent and use common sense. 

“Hopefully while we’re being cautious, the scientific world will be able to learn more about it, identify it better, and then come up with analysis,” Jandery said.