Canine Influenza Found in Cats

(Cheryl Wallach Photography)

Sandra Newbury, clinical assistant professor and director of the Shelter Medicine Program at the University of Wisconsin (UW) School of Veterinary Medicine, has confirmed that canine influenza has now infected a group of cats in Indiana.

Newbury, along with Kathy Toohey-Kurth, virology section head at the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, tested multiple cats at an animal shelter in Northwest Indiana and found them positive for the H3N2 canine influenza virus.

“Suspicions of an outbreak in the cats were initially raised when a group of them displayed unusual signs of respiratory disease,” Newbury says in their press release. “While this first confirmed report of multiple cats testing positive for canine influenza in the U.S. shows the virus can affect cats, we hope that infections and illness in felines will continue to be quite rare.”

Cats that have contracted the virus in the shelter have displayed symptoms such as runny nose, congestion and general malaise, as well as lip smacking and excessive salivation. Symptoms have resolved quickly and so far, the virus has not been fatal in cats.

Newbury and the UW Shelter Medicine team are working closely with the animal shelter to manage the influenza outbreak.

An H3N2 vaccine is now available for dogs, but no vaccine is currently approved or recommended for cats.

Shelter Medicine Fellowship Call - Deadline June 1st, 2015

The University of Wisconsin and UC Davis have combined fellowship positions to help shelter veterinarians access appropriate training to help them give critical knowledge and services to homeless pets. Shelter medicine is an emerging specialty and “veterinarians currently practicing shelter medicine have had little or no exposure to shelter medicine during their veterinary educations.”

The fellowships allow veterinarians to learn from Wisconsin and UC Davis Shelter Medicine Programs and work with multiple animal shelters across the United States. The Fellows will have the opportunity to spend 20 days focusing on advanced shelter medicine training. Information and experience gained will benefit local shelters and communities. “Additionally, the shelter medicine program and UC Davis veterinary students will benefit from the infusion of practical experience brought by the Shelter Medicine Fellows. Many Fellows will continue their careers working in or with shelters for years to come, greatly magnifying the benefit of this investment in their training.”

There is no financial support for this fellowship however fellows are not charged registration fees or tuition. Fellows will be chosen by a committee that will include at least one member of the University of Wisconsin and UC Davis Shelter Medicine Program faculties, a member of the UC Davis Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital faculty, and a shelter veterinarian.

Interested applicants must be licensed veterinarians that are working in shelters in some capacity. Apply here, the deadline is June 1st, 2015.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION