Dog dies after contracting avian influenza: What experts say
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A pet pet has died soon after getting contaminated with avian flu, the Canadian Meals Inspection Company (CFIA) experiences.
In a information launch issued Tuesday, the CFIA and the General public Wellbeing Agency of Canada mentioned a pet dog in Oshawa, Ont. had “been infected with avian influenza” just after chewing on a wild goose. The pet later on died from the virus.
The agency reviews this is “the only circumstance of its sort in Canada,” having said that, it encourages pet house owners to acquire “acceptable precautions to protect their animals and themselves.”
What is avian influenza?
Avian influenza, or fowl flu as it is really far more generally known, is a virus that mainly impacts avian species such as chickens, turkeys, geese and ducks. When strains of the influenza virus mostly infect birds, they can also infect people and, in uncommon instances, domestic animals.
Hen flu is most normally contracted by make contact with with ill birds. In the case of the Oshawa dog, the animal had been contaminated with avian influenza H5N1 immediately after chewing on a wild goose that had died from the virus.
What is the risk of avian flu for animals?
The threat of your pet contracting avian influenza is “exceptionally small,” in accordance to Shayan Sharif, professor and the acting dean of Ontario Veterinary Higher education. But that does not indicate it “doesn’t pose a chance.” There have been instances of avian influenza among cats and pet dogs, having said that, those are “quite unusual occasions” that “will not happen really normally.”
The hazard to your average puppy is “definitely low, but it can be not zero,” echoes J. Scott Weese, a veterinary inner medicine expert with a focus on infectious illnesses. “There are factors we can do to lessen that threat like keeping canine away from wildlife, specifically useless wildlife, and [to exercise caution] in spots that you don’t know what you might be heading to encounter.”
How does your pet agreement avian flu?
Irrespective of whether chicken, pet, or person, an person can contract avian influenza if they occur in speak to with unwell birds or contaminated fecal issue.
For your four-legged mates, vets say to use the Oshawa pet dog scenario as a cautionary tale in opposition to contact with wildlife.
“It is a reminder to retain animals and men and women absent from wildlife,” states Weese. The fewer contact there is, “the much more we can lower the threat of a lot of items,” he tells Yahoo Canada. “That incorporates rabies, the flu it consists of a total checklist of disorders we are anxious about.”
On top of that, Sharif says the ideal exercise is not to give domestic animals uncooked poultry or raw eggs.
“I’m not saying you would locate the virus in poultry,” he suggests. “But I believe it would be very advisable not to give animals any raw poultry meat.”
What are indicators of avian flu in cats and dogs?
For pet entrepreneurs involved that their animals have come in call with an infected chicken, Sharif says to seem out for signs very similar to human influenza.
“Managing a substantial fever, absence of energy, coughing, matters like that,” he claims. “In some instances, it could be neurological signs like tremors and seizures, and, unfortunately, in some scenarios, it could lead to demise.”
How can you continue to keep your pet secure?
“The ideal thing for individuals concerned about this is just to retain command of their animals, will not expose them to wildlife, and seriously take it easy,” states Weese.
“At this point, we’ve had a really small range of mammals become afflicted regardless of big numbers of birds. So it is really not not possible, but the risk for dogs is really, truly lower.”
Sharif tells pet proprietors to “err on the side of warning” when out and about with their animals.
“Make guaranteed dogs are stored on a leash” and retain them away from birds and fecal matter, as inhaling or consuming feces from contaminated birds is an additional way to capture the virus, he says.
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