Scratchings-and-Sniffings

Posted by Animals at 5:56 PM Thursday, October 22, 2009

Scratchings-and-Sniffings

Flu Season for Pets and People

Posted: 21 Oct 2009 11:22 AM PDT

Good-dog-Miles-with-DrLarry Swine flu, bird flu, canine flu, feline flu and regular old seasonal flu. Are you a little confused? I am and I'm going in for my annual PE this afternoon. I'll be getting a flu vaccination, but probably only for the seasonal variety which won't protect me from swine flu for which I have no natural immunity. Yikes!

Let me try to shed some light on this subject.
 
The big news this year is swine flu or the H1N1 influenza virus. It's called swine flu because it was originally thought to be related to strains of swine flu first isolated in the 1930's. This new swine flu actually has genes from swine flu, bird flu and human flu and is very different from the original swine flu.
 
Infections in people and pigs have been reported from many countries hence the term pandemic that we heard so much about last spring. An epidemic is simply a rapid rise in the number of reported cases of an infectious disease like flu. In that sense we are experiencing both a pandemic and an epidemic of H1N1. Whether that becomes really serious in terms of world wide fatalities is another matter. 
 
When I visit my doctor this afternoon I'll get a seasonal flu vaccine comprised of the three flu strains that researchers believe will cause the most problems this year. I may be able to get an H1N1 vaccine, too. They became available last week.Miles-too-big
 
What about your dog and cat? 
 
First of all there are no known instances of swine flu being transmitted from people to pets or vice versa. The AVMA has a nice Q&A page on H1N1 that should answer most questions about pets and H1N1. The CDC has all kinds of flu information including a page on transmission of flu viruses from animals to people.
 
Both cats and dogs have their own strains of flu virus. We did a post on canine influenza earlier this year and there is a vaccine for canine influenza available. Read that post if you are wondering about your own dog's risk of getting canine influenza and rest assured that even if he does come down with it he won't spread that virus to you or the kids.
 
In Europe, domestic cats have become infected by a form of avian flu called the H5N1 virus. The reservoir for this virus is the local wild bird population and cats get it from killing wild birds or coming into contact with infected stray cats. Just one more reason to keep kitties indoors. There are no reports of outbreaks of this virus yet in the US and according to the CDC there are no reports of transmission of H5N1 from cats to people.
 
In summary, flu season is a little more complicated and potentially dangerous this year, but mainly for you, not your dog or cat. You won't be getting swine flu from them and you won't be spreading it to your pets if you are unlucky enough to be afflicted. Talk to your physician about your own flu precautions.
 
Now go wash your hands. 

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