'Funky Bacterium' Believed to Be Cause of Mystery Disease Killing U.S. Dogs and Making Thousands Sick
Researchers believe the respiratory illness could be caused by a new type of bacterial infection
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Researchers believe they may have found the cause of a mystery respiratory illness in dogsA mystery disease that has killed dogs across the U.S. and may have made thousands of others sick is believed to be caused by a “funky bacterium.”
The mystery respiratory illness, from which some dogs have died, could be caused by a new type of bacterial infection, according to researchers, per NBC News.
According to CBS News, dogs have experienced symptoms including a cough, runny eyes, sneezing, and lethargy. The illness doesn’t respond to antibiotics, per the outlet.
Investigation into the causes of the disease has been carried out by researchers at the University of New Hampshire’s Veterinary Diagnosis Laboratory and the Hubbard Center for Genome Studies, per NBC News.
They say they discovered a new germ through their research, which involved “a genetic sequencing of samples” from 30 dogs from New Hampshire who were sick in 2022. They then went on to test a further 40 dogs from Rhode Island and Massachusetts who were ill this year.
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The disease has been reported in states such as Oregon and New HampshireRelated: Dog with Terminal Cancer Treated to Early Christmas Celebration Filled with His Favorite Things
Dr. David Needle, pathology section chief at the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture at the University of New Hampshire, said the pathogen is a “funky bacterium.”
“It’s smaller than a normal bacterium in its size and in the size of its genome,” he told NBC News. “Long story short, it’s a weird bacterium that can be tough to find and sequence.”
The germ “is new as a potential cause of disease, but it is likely to be — or to have evolved from — a component of the dog microbiome,” Needle added.
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Symptoms of the illness include a cough, runny eyes and lethargyRelated: How to Protect Your Pup from the Dreaded Dog Flu This Season
Needle said the discovery came down to “dogged work” by a grad student.
He continued, “After initial sequencing showed there were no known viral, bacterial or fungal pathogens, time consuming and dogged work by graduate student Lawrence Gordon showed that 21 of the initial 30 samples from New Hampshire had some genetic material from one atypical bacterial species.”
However, according to NBC News, scientists are unclear whether the same bug is making dogs sick across the U.S.
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Oregon and Colorado have also seen cases of the illness, as reported by CBS News.
According to NBC News, since the beginning of August, the Oregon Agriculture Department has received more than 200 reports from veterinarians around the state.
"It's a harsh, repetitive cough, usually worse in morning and evening or just getting up with exercise," Dr. Sarah Marpet, a veterinarian at Country Willow Veterinary Hospital, told CBS News New York of the disease, which has seen some canines become very sick within 24-36 hours.
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