Unusual Kennel Cough strain identified among BC’s dog population

The BC SPCA is warning pet parents across BC of an unusual outbreak of Canine Infectious Tracheobronchitis (aka: Kennel Cough), which has been found mainly in the Kamloops area but has 24 cases identified in BC SPCA facilities.

According to the non-profit, none of the dogs impacted with the virus have become seriously ill and all are recovering, but the virus does seem to spread pretty rapidly.

Dr.Emilia Gordon, Senior Manager of Animal Health for the BC SPCA is hoping to raise awareness of the virus to help prevent the spread of the disease.

“Any dogs in our care who were showing symptoms were immediately isolated, but as we began testing for known viruses and bacteria, the tests kept coming back negative. After consulting with specialists, we believe the cause could be a virus that isn’t detected by commercially available tests,” she told the BC SPCA, “because the causative agent is unknown we want to make sure that people are vigilant in isolating their dogs immediately if they start coughing.”

Angelique, a Registered Vet Technician at the Prince George Veterinary Hospital explains that variations of Kennel Coughs are relatively common.

“Kennel cough can be viral or bacterial or both, in a lot of cases because dogs are regularly vaccinated for this and in most cases, they do clear it on their own, in only some cases do we actually send a Culture of that to get the exact causing bacteria or virus. We would of course do that if the animal seemed to be having difficulty getting over it but in our case, we haven’t had any confirmed testing and because there are a multitude of strains that cause it anyways it is possible that they’re just having a particularly strong or contagious strain in Kamloops,” she explained.

She adds the clinic has seen quite a few cases of Kennel Cough this summer, particularly in the past week, however, it isn’t uncommon for this time of year because dogs tend to visit dog parks and socialize during the summer months.

“We sometimes can see cases in vaccinated dogs and part of the reason for that is the vaccine for Kennel Cough, similar to the human vaccine for the Flu is developed using the most common strains that cause that infection or the types that cause the most serious types of infection. But similar to the human Flu vaccine, you can get the Flu vaccine and still get the Flu that year, you’re just not likely to get as sick.”

Meanwhile, Birchwood Veterinary Clinic in Prince George has yet to see any cases of the virus or its ‘unusual strain’, however, it only opened its doors two days ago.

“In my first two days of operation I haven’t (seen any cases), I believe there was one call and I think a dog is coming in next week for a potential Kennel Cough case,” explained Dr.Ben Bauman DVM and Doctor at Birchwood.

According to Bauman, Kennel Cough is an air transmitted respiratory disease that can be identified through a couple of key symptoms.

“It’s a cough mainly, often with Kennel Cough it’s the characteristic kind of dry, honking type cough but any signs of respiratory irritation increased discharge from their nose or if they’re producing any extra saliva or sputum from their mouth can be a sign of that,” he explained.

The BC SPCA says that in addition to coughing, eye or nasal discharge could be symptoms of the ‘unusual strain’ as well.

Additionally, Dr.Bauman says increased lethargy, declining appetite, and greenish, crusty discharge from the face are potential signs of a bacterial secondary infection from the virus.

According to Dr. Bauman, because the virus is a viral infection there is no real treatment other than the vaccines administered once a year.

However, when it comes to the ‘unusual strain’, the BC SPCA says most of the dogs that were impacted were vaccinated against it, so they may be dealing with a virus that isn’t part of the current vaccine coverage.

Dr.Bauman says there are a couple of ways pet parents can help their animals deal with the symptoms at home by moistening or ‘nebulizing’ their respiratory tract.

“You can do that by either having a humidifier where they’re sleeping or you can take them into the bathroom when you’re having a shower or bath and let them breathe or rest in that steamy environment, it aids the respiratory tract in moving stuff up and clearing itself out,” he added.

While any breed of dog can get Kennel Cough, Dr.Bauman says Brachycephalic breeds could have a tougher time dealing with symptoms.

“I would say any Brachycephalic dog would potentially be more impacted by a viral infection because they already have primary increased problems with breathing. They have increased resistance to airflow through their airways and such so when you get a viral infection that causes inflammation things like that can cause some swelling in the respiratory tract and that could lead to an increased expression of symptoms,” he added.

Brachycephalic dogs are those with shortened bones of the face and nose, giving them the appearance of having a ‘pushed in’ nose, such as Pugs, Bulldogs, Pekingese, Shih Tzus and Bull Mastiffs.

The BSPCA has collected samples as part of the outbreak investigation and is teaming up with specialists and diagnostic laboratories to pursue the cause of the outbreak.

The full story from the BC SPCA on the unusual Kennel Cough strain can be found here.