June 30th, 2009

Did you know that a new flu vaccine has been approved for dogs?

Reports the New York Times:

There is a new flu virus going around. It initially looked quite lethal, and caused panic. Now it is clear that it has killed relatively few victims — and many of those have underlying conditions. It is particularly dangerous to be the possessor of a pushed-in nose — that is, to be a Pekingese, a pug or a Shi-Tzu.

It is the H3N8 dog flu. The virus, scientists believe, jumped from horses to dogs at least five years ago, but it has never infected a human.

Last week, the United States Department of Agriculture announced that it had approved the first vaccine for it.

 While fears of a flu pandemic among humans have shifted from the lethal H5N1 avian flu to the relatively mild H1N1 swine flu, the H3N8 canine flu has been a quiet undercurrent in the United States, rarely discussed except among veterinarians and dog owners in the few areas where it has struck hard: Florida, New York City’s northern suburbs, Philadelphia and Denver.

In line with the virologists’ adage that the only predictable thing about flu viruses is that they are unpredictable, the dog flu has baffled those following it.

Find out more about the dog flu and its prevention at the NYT.