CANINEINFLUENZA• CarolineCoile continued
lation protocols for infected dogs. Dogs were shown to shed the virus for 20 to 24 days after infection. According to AKC Rules and regulations Applying to Dog Shows: CHAPTER 11, SECTION 9. "No dog shall be eligible to compete at any show, no dog shall be brought into the grounds or premises of any dog show, and any dog which may have been brought into the grounds or premises of a dog show shall immedi- ately be removed if it: (a) shows clinical symptoms of distemper, infectious hepatitis, leptospirosis or other communicable disease, or (b) is known to have been in contact with distemper, infectious hepatitis, lep- tospirosis or other communicable disease within thirty days prior to the opening of the show, or (c)
gered lawsuits. And cancelling shows only in the Southeast would have encouraged exhibitors to carry it with the to shows in other areas. As AKC Chief Veterinarian Jerry Klein commented: “It’s tough,” Klein said. “If we close for 30 days—as some have suggested—on day 31 the flu may appear." In the end it comes down to personal choice and responsibility. Dr. Richard Hawke, a North Carolina veterinarian whose Black Russian Terriers were infected at the Perry show, lost his older dog to the flu. He conduct- ed an informal Facebook survey in early June, and reported approximately 600 dogs owned by 102 peo- ple had contracted what appeared to be canine flu, with about half catching it at a dog show and half
B ut it wasn't the regula- tions that kept handlers home. As Karan says: "I just couldn't imag- ine inflicting this on anyone else or their dogs." That meant giving up handling and in some cases, board- ing and grooming, income for over a month...
has been kenneled within thirty days prior to the opening of the show on premises on which there existed distemper, infec- tious hepatitis, leptospiro- sis or other communicable disease." But it wasn't the regula- tions that kept handlers home. As Karan says: "I just couldn't imagine inflicting this on anyone else or their dogs." That meant giving up handling and in some cases, board- ing and grooming, income for over a month. Even that insurance with the duck doesn't cover that, but Gaudet says she is looking into Business
from dogs that caught it from those dogs. The sick dogs lived in FL (43%), GA 5%, NC 9%, SC 3%, VA 5%, TN 5%, KY 2%, PA 13%, IL 4%, KS 2%, CA 2%, WA 1% and TX 2%. Four dogs had died. However, we now know that many more dogs died. Many of the dogs that succumbed had other underlying conditions so it's suspected that the flu acted in concert with these pre-existing condi- tions to weaken the dog. Dr. Hawke advised exhibitors to either stay home or get vaccinated, pointing out not only the threat of death, but that
Interrupted Insurance for the future. In some cases it meant dealing with clients who didn't understand why their symptom-free dog couldn't go to shows. It meant, for professionals and owner-handlers alike, giving up that show they'd been looking forward to for months, and possibly sliding down in the rank- ings. Those with affected dogs begged their Facebook friends to stay home or get vaccinated. Many heeded the advice to stay home. About a quarter of the entry was absent in North Carolina shows a week later; by two weeks later a Louisiana show had only 191 dogs show up out of 514 entered. The Kennel Club of Texarkana cancelled their 50th anniversary show. Several agility trials also cancelled. Some questioned why the AKC didn't simply put a moratorium on dog shows, but that would entail forcing handlers, ven- dors, photographers and others to lose income, as well as causing clubs to lose nonrefundable venue fees and other deposits---and could have in fact trig-
his dogs were sick for more than 10 days and that even though he owns a veterinary clinic he spent a "fortune" on drugs to treat them. Dogs that die from flu die from pneumonia, often hemorrhagic pneumonia. Even if they recover, they may be left with compromised lung function. A vaccination against both the older H3N8 strain and the newer (current) H3N2 strain is available. It is given as a two-part series, with the second injec- tion given two to four weeks following the first. Ronald Schultz, PHD, Professor of Pathobiological Sciences at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine, stated in a release from Merck Animal Health (which offers a bivalent canine influenza vaccine) that “Dogs at risk should be vacci- nated at least yearly with both influenza strains, H3N8 and H3N2.” But many people dragged their feet, based in large part on an article that appear in the generally anti- vaccination Dogs Naturally online magazine that
130 • S how S ight M agazine , A ugust 2017
Powered by FlippingBook