Sick As A Dog

Well, we knew it would happen eventually... my morning newspaper (The Colorado Springs Gazette) says that a 13 year-old mixed breed dog is the first confirmed case of a dog with the H1N1 Flu. This dog in White Plains, New York is recovering well but apparently caught the virus from his owner. Dr. Anne Schuchat of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms that dogs can carry and spread viruses, but such cases are extremely rare and should not make people afraid of their pets (just as they said with cats and ferrets).

The dog... suffering from breathing problems, was taken to the Katonah Bedford Veterinary Center in Bedford Hills, New York on Dec. 13th. The dog was tested for H1N1 because it's owner previously had the virus. They expect the dog to make a complete recovery and be "back to his old self" very soon.

Have any of you heard about any other dogs with H1N1? If we become ill with H1N1 ourselves...I'm wondering how we can prevent giving this virus to our pets? Your thoughts?

--Dana

Comments

[Ingrid]

The H1N1 virus sure has turned into an intersting little virus, seeing how it's jumped species to ferrets, cats and now dogs. Fascinating to watch from a virology perspective, not so fascinating when it comes to contemplating that our pets can now get sick with it.

I think precautions against our pets getting sick from us are no different than the precautions we would take to not spread the virus to other family members. Take the same common sense precautions you would with a human family member if you do get sick: follow proper hygiene and sanitation measures to prevent the spread of the disease. Try to isolate the sick family member from other humans and from pets as much as possible, wash your hands frequently and wipe down common surfaces with a good cleaner or sanitizer. And, and this is going to be the hardest past for people who are sick with this flu virus: don't kiss and hug your pet until you're feeling better. Since most people love the comfort of a pet close by when we're not feeling well, that's going to be really hard!

[Dana]

Excellent advice Ingrid! Thank you.

[dog health]

Hi Dana,

We always keep our selves safeguarded from any infections from animals but how an animal will do this to not to be infected from us? We should always keep this in mind while playing with pets.

- Annabella