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A Mysterious Dog Illness Moving Through Ohio Has Me Concerned

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A mysterious dog illness has been found in Ohio.

It was first reported a few weeks ago in a doggie daycare facility where several dogs became ill and unfortunately some died. It was reported that the dogs had a sudden onset of vomiting, bloody diarrhea, depression and extreme lethargy. The symptoms of the dogs were similar to that of HGE (hemorrhagic gastroenteritis), but HGE is not something that is contagious, it happens because of something underlying like bacteria or parasites.

The facility was shut down and a investigation into the illnesses began but no clear cause has been indicated since. At first it was suspected that the illness was food related but tests, not surprisingly, proved that theory wrong.

The Ohio Department of Agriculture has even put out statement urging dog owners in Ohio to keep a close eye on their dogs.

As tests continue more confirmed cases of dogs becoming mysteriously ill have been reported in Akron, Ohio, and more dogs have died.

Cincinnati to Akron. That’s a pretty good jump.

I mean Cincinnati is several hundred miles from me but Akron is less than 30 miles from where I live.

That’s kind of close and kind of scary, especially when the cause is not known and I don’t know what to do to protect my dogs from this.

What I want to know is how did it jump from Cincinnati to Akron? and no reported cases in between there yet?

Is it a virus? Is it a tick borne disease? How is it transmitted? What dog’s are at risk?

Some experts are speculating that the illness may be caused by the “circovirus” which is said to have similar symptoms to what is being seen in dogs here in Ohio, but nothing has been confirmed just yet. This is a virus that is not normally seen in dogs.

Other diseases that have been ruled out already are distemper, parvo, campylobacter,coronaovirus, clostridium, giardia, E.Coli, salmonella,and several others.  

I read that one of the dogs that became ill wasn’t anywhere but in it’s own backyard and had not had any previous exposure to other dogs. One day it was fine and the next day it was fighting for its life.

Scary.

So I’ve been keeping a close eye on Sherman and Leroy and on the progression of the investigation.

I would say I’m mild to moderately concerned at this point, so we’re take some precautions.

I was going to take Leroy on some hiking adventures this week but I’ve decided to hold off on that until I get more information on what is going on with this illness. No point in exposing him to something if I don’t have too.

Sherman has an appointment with an orthopedic specialist next week in Akron, Ohio.

Go figure.

I’m not canceling it. It took me forever to get this appointment set up and I’ll wrap Sherman in an airtight suit if I have too, leaving only his right knee exposed.

So, except for Sherman’s appointment, we’ll lay low and see what this illness is all about. It seems like the experts are all over this and hopefully we’ll have an answer soon.

**An article that was published after I posted this now states that the “circovirus” may be the cause of the illnesses that have been seen.  More information should be available on Monday and I will update this post when more solid information is known, but for now it appears that this illness is linked to a virus. 

**9/16/13 update.The AVMA has just released an article that may address any questions regarding the circovirus. You can check it out here. As of right now the exact cause of the dog illnesses in Ohio has not been confirmed. 

**9/25/13 Still no word yet on a definite cause. 

**10/11/13 Researchers have determined the circovirus is NOT the main cause of these illnesses. Read all about here

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Lauranne

Tuesday 17th of September 2013

That sounds awful, is there any further updates?

Jen

Tuesday 17th of September 2013

not much as of right now. tests are still pending.

Jennifer

Monday 9th of September 2013

We lost our Newf, Jack, last Monday. He is being necropsied at Ohio State but we have no information yet. It was devastating to us, our pup, Magnus, and ended up ravaging Jack to the point where, within his last 3 hours of life, he had multiple bleeding ulcers all over his body. While we are NOT sure he was one of the few infected with this, we are worried sick about the whole thing. One day he was fine and the next day he could barely stand. Five weeks and over $8,000 later, we finally had to make the decision to let him go. Anyway, I wanted to say "Thank you" for putting the word out, even though no one still knows exactly what it is. They do know it is transmitted through dog poo, so keep an eye out, ALWAYS, for anything your dog may be about to step in. It could, quite literally, kill him.

Jen

Monday 9th of September 2013

Hi Jennifer. I am so very sorry that you lost Jack. I just got done reading about him and the FB page that you posted and he was a very beautiful boy. My heart is just breaking for you and your family as I can only imagine how terrible this was for all of you.

If you don't mind me asking, do you live in Ohio? And I did see the ulcers on Jack's poor nose, and I thought that I had remembered seeing or hearing from somewhere that some of the other dogs that have recently been sick had skin ulcers also, but I could be wrong.

Your other Newf Magnus has been fine though, correct? No signs of being ill? I apologize for all questions!

I know that they're are so many of us are watching this and waiting for more information.

Thank you so much for stopping by today and sharing about Jack and again I am so sorry for your loss.

Jennifer

Monday 9th of September 2013

www.facebook.com/magnusandjack

Nichole

Monday 9th of September 2013

Scary stuff...

humanrescuesdog

Monday 9th of September 2013

Oh no. Good luck and love to all dog owners in your area xx

urban hounds

Sunday 8th of September 2013

Wow that is very scary. I would be getting nervous as well

Good luck with the orthopedist and stay safe

urban hounds

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