50-60 dogs positive for canine influenza at Big Dog Ranch
By WPTV -Staff
Published: Jun. 23, 2021 at 12:06 PM EDT
https://www.wflx.com/2021/06/23/50-60-dogs-positive-canine-influenza-big-dog-ranch/
Multiple dogs at Big Dog Ranch Rescue in Loxahatchee Grove have tested positive for canine influenza, a highly contagious respiratory disease.
The details were confirmed Wednesday by founder Laurie Simmons and the shelter's spokesman Chase Scott.
Scott said Big Dog Ranch Rescue took in a dog after it was surrendered by a Palm Beach County owner.
That dog later tested positive for canine influenza three days later, which Simmons said then spread to 50 to 60 dogs that are currently sick.
She said four adoption buildings at the facility have been on lockdown since June 8.
"It's like way bigger than anything we have ever seen," Simmons said.
She doesn't believe that any dogs adopted before June 8 were affected by the virus.
Currently, puppy cabins, which are separate and isolated from the affected areas, are the only areas where dog adoptions are being allowed.
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The details were confirmed Wednesday by founder Laurie Simmons and the shelter's spokesman Chase Scott.
Scott said Big Dog Ranch Rescue took in a dog after it was surrendered by a Palm Beach County owner.
That dog later tested positive for canine influenza three days later, which Simmons said then spread to 50 to 60 dogs that are currently sick.
"(The surrendered dog) appeared to be healthy, was updated on vaccines, already spayed. So instead of putting it in quarantine, where we normally put all our shelter dogs coming in, we put it directly into our adoption buildings," Simmons said.
She said four adoption buildings at the facility have been on lockdown since June 8.
"It's like way bigger than anything we have ever seen," Simmons said.
She doesn't believe that any dogs adopted before June 8 were affected by the virus.
Currently, puppy cabins, which are separate and isolated from the affected areas, are the only areas where dog adoptions are being allowed.
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Simmons said they will administer canine influenza vaccines to dogs that have not been affected by the disease starting Thursday.
"This is a highly infectious virus. If you are in contact, and the dog coughed on you, saliva on you, it can be carried on your clothes, your skin, your shoes and lives on surfaces for up to 48 hours," Simmons said. "If you are walking your dog, another dog coughs on the grass, your dog sniffs that spot, it can get the virus that way also."
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"We have multiple confirmed cases not only in the dogs at the Big Dog Ranch shelter, but also in pet dogs out in the community, so it is good evidence the virus is here in Palm Beach County," Crawford said.
Dr. Cynda Crawford explains that canine influenza can spread very easily among dogs.
She said this marks the first return of the canine influenza virus in Florida since a big statewide outbreak in the summer of 2017.
Health experts say there is no evidence of the spread of canine influenza from dogs to people, and there have not been any cases of human infection with the canine influenza virus in the U.S. or world.
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The signs of this illness in dogs are the following:
Cough
Runny nose
Fever
Lethargy
Eye discharge
Reduced appetite
The CDC says most dogs affected by canine influenza recover within two to three weeks and only a small percentage die from the disease.
Sourced: https://www.wflx.com/2021/06/23/50-60-dogs-positive-canine-influenza-big-dog-ranch/
For more details about this outbreak, watch WPTV's video report.
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