Dog flu is real but there’s no reason to panic

In the past few weeks, you might have seen some news articles on your social media feed warning pet owners of a highly contagious dog flu raging all over the US. The headlines are definitely eye-catching — “What is dog flu? Contagious disease spreads across the United States” blared a recent Newsweek article — but the truth is, thankfully, much tamer: yes, some dogs are catching the flu in four US states. But no, there’s no reason to panic.

“What’s happening now really doesn’t seem uncommon. We’ve seen these outbreaks flare up and then usually they run their course, and then that’s it,” says Michael San Filippo, a spokesperson for the American Vet Medical Association. “So there’s nothing here that we’re seeing that’s causing us extra alarm.”

Just like humans, dogs can catch the flu and show similar symptoms: a fever, coughing, watery eyes, and a runny nose. There are currently two dog flu viruses in the US, but the latest outbreaks are all from the H3N2 virus, which was first detected in the US in 2015. These viruses are different from the ones that cause influenza in people. You can’t get the flu from your puppy, and vice versa (but your cat can). In the past 45 days, at least 70 dogs tested positive for the flu in California, 22 in Kentucky, and just a handful in Ohio and Michigan, according to the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, which keeps track of dog flu cases in the US.

These localized outbreaks can be very serious: The virus can quickly spread from dog to dog if the pups are playing together in a park, at daycare, or even attending the same dog show. “If it gets into an area with a group of susceptible dogs, the transmission can be incredibly intense in that region,” says Amy Glaser, director of the Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory at Cornell’s Animal Health Diagnostic Center. “And it’s very frightening.” For example, a flu outbreak in Chicago in 2015 affected more than 1,000 dogs.

The flu isn’t dangerous because it’s not particularly deadly. The mortality rate is below 10 percent, Glaser says, and could be as low as one percent, according to Cynda Crawford, assistant professor of Shelter Medicine at the University of Florida. But the flu can damage a dog’s airways, leading to other infections like pneumonia. And that’s what can kill a dog. So, in these areas where the flu is spreading, pet owners should keep an eye out for symptoms, and talk to their vet about whether the dog should be vaccinated. In fact, both strains of dog flu in the US have a vaccine — which lowers a dog’s risk of getting sick and helps a pup get through the flu if it gets infected.

But outside of those four states, pet owners shouldn’t really worry. “It’s not worse than it has been historically in any region,” Glaser tells The Verge. “There’s currently not widespread national distribution of H3N2 in dogs.” In fact, recent media reports that the dog flu has spread to 46 states are just hyping the threat. Yes, the flu viruses have been detected in 46 states in the past few years, but there’s no outbreak raging across the whole country right now. “This is not causing all dogs across the country to be sick,” San Filippo tells The Verge. “So it’s not something we want people to be panicking about, just to be aware of.”

If you think your pet is sick, bring your dog to the vet and ask for a flu test. Just like in people, it’s hard to tell whether a puppy has the flu or some other less nasty virus, so that’s why testing is important, Crawford tells The Verge. If your dog has the flu, you should keep your pet isolated for three to four weeks so there’s no risk of infecting other dogs. But the only real way to keep your best friend safe is by getting a shot, Crawford says. Right now, the dog flu vaccine is not mandatory like the rabies shot, though Crawford says it should be. “Vaccination is the one tool we have in our toolbox to reduce the spread of canine flu,” she says. “The more dogs that are vaccinated in this country, the less opportunity the virus has to travel.”

But for now, just sit back and relax: unless you live in a dog flu hot spot, your doggy is going to be just fine.