Although I devote this article specifically to pet health, I thought I would touch on the recent outbreak of the new flu virus and what lessons it can teach us. By now, nearly everyone has heard of the H1N1 influenza, or “swine flu”. It was originally called that because laboratory testing showed that many of the genes in this new virus were very similar to the influenza virus that normally occurs in pigs in North America. Further studies have shown this new virus is in fact very different from what normally circulates in North American pigs.

This leads me to mention the importance of vaccinating in preventing outbreaks, including outbreaks of zoonotic diseases, or those that are transmittable from animals to people, as well as animal-specific diseases. Polio and small pox are virtually things of the past, at least in the United States, primarily due to the effective vaccinating of the human population. In a similar manner, rabies, distemper, and parvo viruses have been successfully controlled in pets because of the vaccines developed against them.

We’ve also seen the results in areas where vaccinating is insufficient. I spent time overseas, in Morocco, and saw firsthand what could happen. There were rabid dogs present, especially stray ones in the countryside, and the country was also dealing with a massive outbreak of African Equine Sickness. This virus has a 90% mortality to those horses exposed, with ticks and mosquitoes acting as vectors, and dogs and camels acting as intermediate and non-symptomatic hosts. I was working with the Moroccan government to help educate the public at the time, as well as organize vaccination clinics to help immunize as many horses as we could.

A bit closer to home, I’ve seen many dogs and cats come to us from places where there was not enough care and little vaccinating occurring. They had anything from severe upper respiratory illnesses, to ocular ulcers, to profuse bloody diarrhea, sometimes leading to death. We’re lucky here in Ashburn where so many people take such good care of their pets that the incidence of these diseases is limited.

Hopefully researchers will develop a vaccine against the H1N1 soon, but at least we are educated and aware of what to look for, and may we use this situation to remind ourselves of how to be safe and healthy, both for ourselves and our beloved pets.

Till next time, Dr. Steve, www.ashburnanimals.com, 703-729-0700

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