from the watching-out-for-our-best-friends dept.
The always excellent Worms and Germs blog, out of the University of Guelph, has a series of articles about the recent arrival of Asian H3N2 canine flu into North America.
As described:
In a bit of a surprising twist, research performed by Cornell University, the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and the National Veterinary Services Laboratory has indicated that the large, ongoing canine flu outbreak in the Midwest US is being caused by an H3N2 influenza strain, not the expected H3N8 canine flu strain. Molecularly, the strain is closely related to H3N2 strains that are circulating in dogs in China and South Korea. H3N2 canine flu emerged in that region in the mid 2000s and is widely circulating in some areas.
It would appear that one culprit in the spread of this disease are the number of international "Rescue Societies." These groups travel to foreign countries, collect stray dogs, and bring them back to North America where they are adopted out to well-meaning families. Asia and South America are the preferred sources, although there are groups that rescue dogs in the US and haul them up to Canada.
The ultimate problem seems to be that aside from rabies there is not a lot of thought given by border agencies to managing imported pets. In fact, an awful lot of dogs are imported each year that don't even have the required rabies shots.
If over 2700 unvaccinated dogs were brought into the country, how many dogs were brought in in total? How many of the "vaccinated" dogs were really vaccinated? (Since scrutiny is limited and faking a vaccine certificate doesn’t exactly take a lot of effort.) What other pathogens might those thousands of imported dogs been carrying? Finally, why import those dogs in the first place? There’s hardly a shortage of dogs looking for homes in the US...
Here is a statement from the CDC [fixed] on the outbreak in the Chicago area.
(Score: 5, Informative) by FatPhil on Tuesday April 21 2015, @11:46AM
Absolutely no reason to have some random blogger as the middleman.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 3, Informative) by Dunbal on Tuesday April 21 2015, @11:51AM
Also from the CDC: "No human infections with either of these canine influenza viruses have ever been reported."
Why the hell are we even talking about this? Is soylent going to cover worming issues too?
(Score: 5, Funny) by The Archon V2.0 on Tuesday April 21 2015, @12:23PM
> Is soylent going to cover worming issues too?
Oh great, another global worming denier.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by rts008 on Tuesday April 21 2015, @01:40PM
Now that I've finished cleaning my coffee splattered keyboard and monitor, I have to say that was superb. :-)
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday April 21 2015, @05:36PM
How many of the "vaccinated" dogs were really vaccinated?
We're talking about a Flu virus here right? Unless people are getting Flu vaccines for their dogs now I think we can estimate that none of them were vaccinated.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 21 2015, @08:13PM
Not true. There are all sorts of vaccines for dogs beyond rabies including that for influenza. Some of them are required if you want to board your dog at a kennel.
(Score: 2) by CoolHand on Tuesday April 21 2015, @12:16PM
You're correct, that is a better more accurate link.. fixed.
Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job-Douglas Adams
(Score: 2) by Techwolf on Tuesday April 21 2015, @11:51AM
I remember years ago when someone thought bringing a sick dog to a dog show was not an issue. Over 100 champion dogs parished withen a week.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by VLM on Tuesday April 21 2015, @11:59AM
Dog people treat their dogs like they are kids. Lots of theory and daydreaming and hand waving about how a "real epidemic" would impact society, but this is how the rubber meets the road. How do we think people would act in an epidemic? How do we hope they'll act? How do we fear they'll act? But this is how they actually DO act.
Once a human flu spreads as it does every century or so, you can search and replace the above with "day care center" and "human children". Or school, or college/dorm, or military barracks, or open plan office building (those are going to be absolute death traps).
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Tuesday April 21 2015, @01:00PM
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 5, Informative) by VLM on Tuesday April 21 2015, @01:39PM
Doesn't really matter I was interested in the psychological behavior aspects of "this is how people REALLY act during disease epidemics". Maybe in the late stages of an epidemic after a lot of people are wiped out, the reaction toward illness would change. Maybe.
One interesting aspect of
in a westernised society with modern medicine
is that's only Europe... In the USA we're stockholm syndroming ourselves into thinking modern medicine, much like sports cars, trophy wives, and rolex's, should only be for the rich and lucky job creators and any alternative to the status quo is inherently commie talk or letting the terrists win, and since we're all just temporarily disadvantaged millionaires, that's no major problem. Europe is only a very small fraction of the world population.
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Wednesday April 22 2015, @04:12AM
You can include Canada, New Zealand, and Australia in the mix.
Proper Socialized medicine there too.
(Score: 1) by darnkitten on Tuesday April 21 2015, @03:47PM
It would depend on how the flu mutates and whether the flu mutates in the direction we predict (in other words, if we have prepared the correct vaccines)--this year we had two vaccines available, and, in my locale, we had an outbreak of a flu that neither vaccine was effective against. Fortunately, it wasn't lethal, nor was it highly contagious, but it did lay its victims low for almost two months--and it affected both the young and the old.
It could just as easily been more contagious or more deadly (or less, for that matter).
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 21 2015, @03:40PM
Once a human flu spreads as it does every century or so
Various strains of influenza spread around the world every year.
(Score: 5, Funny) by aclarke on Tuesday April 21 2015, @02:59PM
While it is said that "all dogs go to heaven", I'm glad to read about dogs going to parish. However, from your post, I'm still not certain whether they were actually going to church, or just entering the parish premises. Are they being adopted by clergy, or simply being brought along with their parishioner owners?
Regardless, when these lucky dogs do eventually perish, I'm sure St. Peter will look kindly upon them due to their having been parished during their time on earth.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Tuesday April 21 2015, @03:31PM
You might be mistaken. What if these dogs were simply going to a parish in Louisiana? ("parish" in LA = "county" in other states)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 21 2015, @06:35PM
You might be mistaken. What if these dogs were simply going to a parish in Louisiana? ("parish" in LA = "county" in other states)
Those are the wicked ones that were sent to doggie hell.
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Wednesday April 22 2015, @01:49AM
Over 100 champion dogs parished withen a week.
Sorry, seem to be on a grammar nazi binge, but I hope their ministers appreciated the new members of the flock. (Oh, and there is a typo in "withen".)
(Score: 2) by VLM on Tuesday April 21 2015, @12:04PM
Finally, why import those dogs in the first place?
This is almost linkbait trolly. So you get transferred from Wisconsin to Minnesota, other than the local women being a little hotter nothing changes you just take ole yeller or lassie with you. Then you get transferred to the paper mill across the border in Canada and they F around with paperwork but "more or less" just take your dog with you. Its not like "Sorry kids had to go out back and shoot old yeller in the head because crossing THIS imaginary political border means we have to euthanize our pets"
I do agree that the lenient laws were designed to handle the trivial situation above, not for importing street mongrels by the container load from the other side of the planet. Which sounds a lot like an anti-immigration rant although I was writing about dogs.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 21 2015, @03:45PM
If pets from other countries are in demand, then maybe people here should just lie about the origin of the strays in the US. It isn't like the new owner would be able to ask the animal or expect paperwork for a stray from Asia or South America.
(Score: 3, Funny) by TK on Tuesday April 21 2015, @06:17PM
Sounds like a great way to trick some hipsters into buying a mutt you picked up at the pound that morning for a few grand. Give them funky names like Trans-Siberian Dachshund, make a Wikipedia page for the breed, write up a long list of instructions "specific to the breed" that consists of the basics: feed your dog, walk your dog, etc. that come with as a brochure.
Anyone want to start an artisanal pet shop?
The fleas have smaller fleas, upon their backs to bite them, and those fleas have lesser fleas, and so ad infinitum
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 21 2015, @01:32PM
This is their first step in setting up the "Ape revolution".
All the dogs and cats will die. Then Apes will be used as pets, who will then revolt and make armies and enslave humans. But humans are already enslaved by a very particular group of "human-look-alikes", so I don't think this was really necessary. It might be that the real masters are about to begin the process of total enslavement by using Apes or another species or a human race that they control totally.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 21 2015, @09:48PM
I'd horsewhip you if I had a horse. --Groucho Marx
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 22 2015, @01:54AM
I had my dog vaccinated when he was just a pup, and my dog became altruistic! He keeps doing the same things over and over again, fetching my slippers, warding of threatening strangers, alerting me to any presence of quail in the living room. I only I had known beforehand! Why is the government trying to cover this up????