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Canine Influenza, Holiday Tips, and DECATUR Pets!
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Vol. 4, Issue 5
Oct/Nov 2009
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Greetings!
Happy Halloween and Thanksgiving! We wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season, and want to take this opportunity to remind you of some important tips and other useful information.
Also please note: The Village Vets of Decatur will be closed on Sundays effective December 1, 2009. See more information in the article below.
As always, please feel free to contact us with questions or concerns at info@thevillagevets.com.
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CANINE INFLUENZA...
No Reason To Panic!!
We have received a large number of emails and phone calls
lately regarding Canine Influenza - so we know it's on a lot of your
minds. Therefore, we wanted -
1. To make sure all of you know the important
information about Canine Influenza.
2.
To distinguish between the real facts and some of the recent hype (a lot of
information that you are receiving right now has been generated by the vaccine
companies).
3. To make sure all of you know our position.
By the way, if your furry companions are cats only, you
needn't read any further...for other than education:).
Canine influenza (CIV) is a virus that was first identified
in racing greyhounds in Florida in 2004.
You may have heard it referred to as the H3N8 virus. When it was first recognized, the veterinary community was in a state of
panic because CIV was thought to cause a rapid and widespread mortality rate in
infected animals. Since that time, we
have realized that CIV really behaves much more like the typical human seasonal
flu virus - many of the animals exposed to the virus tend to get sick, but
only a few dogs become seriously ill.
This statement is important for many reasons. CIV is spread through
respiratory secretions but is easily killed with many of the common
disinfectants and bleach. Therefore, in
order to spread efficiently the virus needs environments where there are many
dogs confined in a small space (thus the first cases were all found in
facilities housing racing dogs. The most
frequent places CIV been found are animal shelters, boarding facilities, pet
stores, vet clinics and humane societies.
It is important to note that as of last month, according the
American Veterinary Medical Association, the disease is only endemic in 4
states: Colorado, Florida, New York, and Pennsylvania. You can visit the web site: www.diaglab.vet.cornell.edu/issues/civ-stat.asp
to see how many cases have been diagnosed in each state. I think you will find it comforting to know
that between the time the disease was first discovered (2004) and October of
last year only 3 cases of Canine Influenza were confirmed in Georgia. The chance of your dogs getting the disease
in Georgia is very low.
Infection with CIV- for the most part - is
very similar to infections of Kennel Cough. About 80% of dogs that are exposed to the virus will become infected -
most of the dogs will experience mild symptoms equivalent to the human head
cold which should resolve with simple supportive care. 20% of the dogs will show no symptoms of the
infection. In general, as with human
flu, the very young dogs and the very old dogs will be the most severely
affected. It would be very rare that
a healthy adult pet would develop severe symptoms from the virus. For an unfortunate few CIV can cause severe
symptoms - the disease is characterized by a rapid onset of hemorrhagic
pneumonia (coughing blood) with high fevers.
It is very important to note that of all the cases where a case of
Canine Influenza was confirmed only 5% - 8% of them were the severe form - and
these severe cases were in dogs that were in high risk environments (many of
them were malnourished or sick animals living in kennels).
In May of 2009, the USDA approved the licensure of the first
influenza vaccine for dogs (This,
along with the recent Swine Flu/H1N1 scare, is very likely the reason we are
hearing so much about CIV in recent months). This vaccine is not meant to
prevent infection -rather, it is intended to aid in the control of disease
associated with the Canine Influenza virus.
That is to say - the vaccine is supposed to help lessen the severity and
duration of the disease.
The Village Vets stance is in accordance with the American
Veterinary Medical Association stance.
We believe that the "Canine influenza vaccine is a 'lifestyle vaccine',
and is not recommended for every dog". Our
practice will carry a limited supply of the vaccine - but only recommend it for
dogs in high risk situations because:
1. As for now, most of our couch potato, urban/suburban yard dwelling, dog-park-playing dogs will likely never
be exposed to the virus, nor will they benefit from the vaccine.
2. Most (92% - 95%) of the dogs who acquire the
disease will have relatively mild symptoms- similar to what we experience with the common cold.
The vaccine does not prevent disease; it only reduces the clinical
signs.
3. For many reasons we prefer not to "over
vaccinate" our dogs. Though initial
clinical trials in 746 dogs show the vaccine to be"safe", we believe that any
unneeded vaccine can potentially have adverse effects (vaccine reactions,
autoimmune disease, systemic inflammatory response, etc.). If administering the vaccine does not
clearly demonstrate a benefit to our pets, we would prefer not to use it.
4. There are other, potentially more effective
steps you can take to prevent the disease:
a. Continue living in Georgia:).
b. In crowded environments, avoid any contact
with dogs that are coughing and sneezing.
c. Keep an eye on your dog; if you notice
coughing, sneezing, or lethargy give us a call so that we can discuss possible
diagnostic and treatment options.
As stated above, we will keep some doses of the vaccine, but
we do not intend to make the vaccine a "core" vaccine to be given yearly (like
distemper or rabies vaccines).
So please breathe
easier (that goes for your canine companion, too). No reason to panic.
Contributed by Matt Miller, DVM
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Holiday Pet Tips
from Dr. Will
The joyous holidays are also a busy time at animal emergency
practices. A few things to consider:
Holiday food is for people, NOT pets! Bones can mean trouble if swallowed.
Also many meals and treats- especially chocolate- can be toxic
(even deadly) to pets if ingested. KEEP CANDY BOWLS OUT OF YOUR PETS' REACH!!
Keep your pets indoors...particularly black cats during Halloween. Unfortunately there are still people out there who look to do harm.
Fireworks, "celebratory" rifle
shots...loud sounds can stress your pets, not to mention potential injury.
Make sure they are safely confined.
Holiday plants can bring harm. Mistletoe, lilies, poinsettias, holly
berries can be very toxic.
Watch the decorations.Pets can
ingest decorations and wrappings, or be injured by biting at electrical
cords or candles.
Protect your pets!  Contributed by Will Draper, DVM |
Introducing DECATUR Pets!
The Village Vets and Animal ER Center of Decatur are happy to announce the inaugural section of DECATUR Pets, in the Holiday 2009 issue of Decatur Living!
After much consideration, Dr. Will and I felt it imperative to have a pet publication that was dedicated to the wonderful beings that enhance our existence. Decatur Living was the perfect vehicle for this. The first section debuts in the Nov./Dec. issue. We are very excited to see our idea come to fruition! As pet parents, we are forever in search of ways to learn more about responsible pet ownership. This includes new advances in preventative medical care and nutrition, training solutions, grooming issues, and pet product advice. Therefore, we are focused on providing quality information and advice to our pet-loving population to help make some of your decisions a bit easier. We have worked to include those businesses that have a reputation for quality and exemplary service to our community. Our main objective is to celebrate all aspects of pet ownership! The featured articles and advertisements will provide readers with important information regarding local pet-related businesses and services. In subsequent issues, we will have our "Ask the Vet Q&A" page to provide you information on commonly asked questions that will be answered by one of the many qualified practitioners at The Village Vets and Animal Emergency Center of Decatur. Please feel free to email pet questions, suggestions and comments to us at questions@thevillagevets.com.  Contributed by Treasure Dreher, Practice Manager- Animal Emergency Center of Decatur
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The Village Vets of Decatur
Closing on Sundays this December
As of December 1, 2009, The Village Vets of Decatur
will be closed on Sundays. Our Monday through
Saturday hours will remain the same (M-F 7:30-6:00pm
and Sat 8:00-2:00pm). Animal Emergency Center of Decatur (also located at 217 N.
McDonough St.) is open all day
and night on Sundays (until 8:00am Monday) for
emergency pet care. The Village Vets in Lilburn/Stone
Mountain is open on Sundays (12 Noon to 4:00 PM) to
see patients.
12:00 to 4:00pm to see appointments. It is staffed with our own veterinarians from both offices.
The Village Vets of Lilburn/St.Mtn. has boarding
available for those of you that prefer to be able to pick
up your pets from boarding on Sundays.
We thank you in advance for your understanding and continued support!
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Kate Jackson and Jabula on WebMD
1-Minute Trainer Videos are a hit!
Decatur's own Kate Jackson, owner of Jabula Dog Academy, is the host of a series of one-minute training videos on the WebMD web site. She goes over such topics as teaching dogs to focus, "sit", "come now", "stay", and to "leave it!" As our preferred training guru, we are at The Village Vets are bursting with pride. Go to WebMD to watch the videos by clicking here. |
Both of The Village Vets practices and Animal Emergency Center of Decatur are proud to be accredited by the American Animal Hospital Association.
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Thanks to all of you for being the best clients, with the best patients, in the world. We appreciate you very much!
Sincerely,
The Village Vets
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