NBC News Veterinarians say there could be a number of reasons for the uptick in cases of atypical canine respiratory disease, including declines in vaccination rates.
Veterinarians across the country are scrambling to treat the rising number of dogs sick with a severe type of respiratory illness. At the same time, scientists are trying to figure out what’s causing the current outbreak, how widespread it is, and how many previously healthy pups have become seriously ill or died.
Maple was a happy, healthy 7-month-old Australian shepherd until last Saturday, when she began coughing. Her owner, Adrianna Deffenderfer of Fontana, California, became scared when the pup’s cough progressed quickly, keeping Deffenderfer up through the night.
“I was just holding her, trying to comfort her as best as I could,” said Deffenderfer, 23. “I could tell that she was scared, too.”
At the vet the next morning, the young dog was tested for various respiratory illnesses, all of which eventually came back negative.
“The vet called me and he said, basically because there’s no definitive proof of this illness yet, we don’t know really what’s causing it,” said Deffenderfer.
Maple was treated for bronchitis, given a nebulizer and a steroid shot, and had the secretions cleared from her lungs. She was also sent home with two different antibiotics.
Canine respiratory infections, especially dog flu, are common, often causing outbreaks in shelters and doggy day cares. The current surge has been spreading in areas of the U.S. and Canada over the last year. This outbreak is different from garden-variety respiratory illness, experts say, because of the large number of cases serious enough to lead to pneumonia.
In Colorado, the number of canine pneumonia cases rose by 50% from September through November of this year, compared to the same months in 2022, said infectious disease expert Dr. Michael Lappin, director of the Center for Companion Animal Studies at the Colorado State University School of Veterinary Medicine. According to Trupanion, a pet insurance company, claims data suggests that the number of dogs with severe respiratory illness is on the rise in a number of states.