MARYLAND, USA — Veterinary officials in Maryland are warning that a mysterious illness in dogs has now been found in the state.
An unknown respiratory illness is spreading among dogs in multiple U.S. states, according to veterinarians and multiple state agencies.
Researchers are still trying to collect and verify data from samples across the country to determine exactly where the illness is spreading.
But canine respiratory illness has been reported either officially or anecdotally a total of 14 states, most recently in Maryland, according to American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) president and veterinarian Rena Carlson.
Some cases of the pneunomia progress quickly, making dogs very sick within 24 to 36 hours.
Owners should be on the lookout for progressive coughing that may be accompanied by nasal or eye discharge, sneezing, extreme lethargy, loss of appetite, and trouble breathing, and consult their veterinarian immediately if their dog develops these symptoms, Carlson says.
"It's kind of presented as three respiratory presentations in dogs. One being a chronic low-grade bronchitis. One being a chronic pneumonia that's not responding to the typical antibiotics and then a severe acute pneumonia where they rapidly decline," said Dr. Kayleen Gloor.
Gloor says the best thing you can do is keep your dog away from other dogs.
"Definitely keeping your dogs away if there is known respiratory symptoms with your own pet or other people's pets," she said.
She also says now is the time to make sure your pet's vaccinations are up to date.
"Make sure we're vaccinating for the things that are vaccine-preventable like Bordetella, parainfluenza, influenza," Gloor said, "While no vaccine is perfect it definitely reduces their risk of disease and the severity of disease."
There have been some deaths reported from the unknown illness, but it is “very rarely” fatal, veterinarian and researcher David Needle told our Verify team.
Needle, who is a senior veterinary pathologist at the University of New Hampshire’s veterinary diagnostic laboratory, has been studying the unknown illness for about a year. It emerged in New Hampshire in 2022, he said.
Since then, Needle and other researchers have received samples from Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Oregon, and are awaiting samples from other U.S. states, Needle said.