At least one Laurel animal hospital is advising dog owners to have their pets vaccinated with a new flu vaccine to combat a highly contagious canine flu virus that has surfaced in the metropolitan area and 30 states. The virus only affects dogs and, so far, has not been found to be transferable to humans.

Centers for Disease Control officials in Atlanta predict that some form of the virus, canine influenza virus type A, or H3N8, will infect up to 80 percent of all dogs nationwide this year. About 8 percent are not expected to survive the disease, mainly dogs that are elderly, very young or have weak immune systems.

According to Jennifer Trujillo, chief of operations for Rocky Gorge Animal Hospital, Resort and Spa in West Laurel, in the past six months one case of the canine flu was confirmed in Anne Arundel County and the District of Columbia and six cases were confirmed in Fairfax, Va.

The Fairfax Animal Shelter closed its kennels down for a couple of weeks in August, after more than two dozen dogs showed symptoms of canine flu.

Trujillo said test results are pending for several suspected canine flu cases in Frederick and Baltimore County, and one death in Reisterstown is thought to have been a result of the disease.

"Last year, we were aware of the dog flu, but it was more of a problem in other areas," Trujillo said.

The canine flu was first detected in 2004 in greyhound race dogs at tracks in Florida, according to the CDC. Agency officials said the virus existed for more than 40 years in horses, but scientists believed it jumped species five years ago, when they started seeing it in dogs.

The symptoms for the virus include coughing, sneezing, fever and nasal and eye discharge. Veterinarians said some dogs can spread the disease, even though they have no outward symptoms. By the time they do show signs of an infection, they could have been spreading the virus for seven to 10 days.

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, the infection can spread quickly through animal shelters, pet stores, boarding kennels, veterinary clinics and any location where dogs congregate, such as dog parks and dog shows.

"It is important for dog owners to know that canine influenza is not just spread through direct contact such as dogs kissing, licking or sniffing one another," said Dr. Steven Wolchinsky, hospital director at Rocky Gorge. "Canine influenza can survive in the environment for 48 hours and a dog can become infected by coming in contact with a contaminated object such as a doorknob, floor, clothes, hands or other surfaces."

During Laurel's first dog show Sept. 13, Rocky Gorge volunteers distributed letters to participants and kept their eyes open for dogs that showed signs of the illness. None were detected, Trujillo said.

Good news: don't panic

The good news is that the new vaccine is proving to be effective in combating the disease and well tolerated by dogs. It was tested on more than 700 dogs from 30 breeds, ages six weeks to 10 years old.

"The canine influenza vaccine contains inactivated whole virus, so there is no chance that the vaccine itself can cause respiratory infections," Wolchinsky said.

Trujillo added that although the vaccine may not totally prevent the flu, "It has proven to reduce mortality if a dog gets the flu, and it will be less severe."

CDC, AVMA and other veterinarian officials said they are not trying to panic dog owners, but to get them to be proactive and have their pets vaccinated to prevent a pandemic from developing.

Two shots of the vaccine are required, two to four weeks apart.

In addition to getting the word out about the vaccine, Rocky Gorge Animal Hospital will hold a separate walk-in clinic every Saturday in October to give dogs the flu vaccine.

Most other veterinary hospitals called in Laurel said they have not had any cases of the canine flu and do not plan to offer the vaccine shots. Officials at Patuxent Valley Animal Hospital said they will make a decision on whether to offer the vaccine once they see how prevalent the outbreak becomes.

A spokeswoman for the Cat and Dog Hospital of Columbia said they will offer the vaccine soon, but only to "high-risk dogs."

At Rocky Gorge, which also has a boarding resort and spa, dog owners are being advised, but not required, to give their pets the flu vaccine, but that could change.

"We're still debating whether to require it," Trujillo said. "We have a ward where we can board non-vaccinated dogs, but by the winter or sooner, we may start requiring it. We don't want to require it last-minute ... we want to give our clients time to get the shots."

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