Unusual outbreak of kennel cough across B.C.

VANCOUVER — The BC-SPCA is warning about an outbreak of an unusual strain of kennel cough among dogs in the province.

So far, the agency has seen 24 cases of the illness that specialists believe could be caused by a virus that isn’t detected by commercially available tests.

“We first started seeing cases in dogs coming into our facilities in July and began hearing of similar cases in the community, particularly in the Kamloops region,” said Dr. Emilia Gordon, senior manager of animal health for the BC-SPCA, in a statement.

“Any dogs in our care who were showing symptoms were immediately isolated, but as we began testing for known viruses and bacteria, the tests kept coming back negative.”

Gordon said the BC-SPCA is raising awareness with veterinarians and the public to help prevent the spread of the disease, which causes coughing, and eye or nasal discharge.

“Because the causative agent is unknown, we want to make sure that people are vigilant in isolating their dogs immediately if they start coughing,” she said.

The BC-SPCA said no dogs have become seriously ill and all are recovering; however, they are concerned about how aggressively the disease spreads. They are asking people to isolate their pet immediately if they begin coughing and to seek veterinary advice.

Gordon said most of the sick dogs they have seen have had a previous kennel cough vaccine, and vets in the community also report illness in vaccinated dogs.