ALL ABOUT DOGS and CATS Resource Center for Canine & Feline
Lovers Pet Health Articles Could You Recognize Dog Flu? By
Jennifer Viegas “Flu” seems to be a catchall word used to
describe many different illnesses, from human flu to avian flu.
Now, dogs can catch dog flu. But do you really understand the
symptoms, treatment and prevention of this potentially life-
threatening illness? Recently, the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention issued new guidelines about canine influenza (aka
dog flu). Ruben Donis, chief of the Molecular Virology and
Vaccines Branch of the CDC’s Influenza Division and other
experts help answer key questions about this How did canine
influenza first emerge? The canine influenza virus was first
identified in 2004, but scientists believe it was around for a
while beforehand. “We have demonstrated that the virus was in
the greyhound population as early as 1999, and we speculate it
was likely introduced sometime before that,” says Tara Anderson,
a researcher at the University of Florida