Officials are scrambling to identify a mysterious illness that has killed dozens of dogs, mostly puppies, in the state of Michigan.
Over 30 dogs in Otsego County have died from an illness similar to parvo, a highly contagious viral disease commonly found in unvaccinated puppies.
Dogs have been dying within days of developing the concerning symptoms, which include vomiting, bloody diarrhea, lethargy and loss of appetite, the Otsego County Animal Shelter said in a post to their Facebook.
The mysterious illness presents itself with parvo-like symptoms, but when the dogs have been tested for parvo the test often comes back negative, the shelter said.
‘Because there is numerous diseases that are similar (to parvo) the vet may treat differently. The dog ends up dying within a few days,’ they wrote.
According to the shelter, the illness has not been affecting any breeds more than others, nor has there been one specific place in the county where the sick dogs have been located.
Melissa Fitzgerald, the director of the shelter, told MLive that most of the dogs that have been affected have been under two-years-old, though there was one who died that was reportedly four.
According to Fitzgerald, some of the dogs who have died did test positive for parvo, meaning there could potentially be a new strain of the virus spreading.
The illness may also be impacted by whether dogs were vaccinated properly. The shots combatting parvo have to be delivered on a specific schedule and kept at a specific temperature in order to be effective, Fitzgerald said.
On Tuesday, over 30 dogs in Clare County, about 70 miles from Otsego, were also found to have died from the same, strange illness.
‘The state is in a panic right now,’ Clare County Animal Control Director Rudi Hicks told the Clare County Cleaver.
Hicks said the virus kills infected dogs quickly, and noted that she would not be taking the dogs she has as pets anywhere for the time being.
‘We’re not going to dog parks, we’re not going camping with them,’ Hicks said. ‘Because there’s no cure. There’s no vaccine because they haven’t identified it yet.’
Hicks believes it’s either a new strain of the parvo virus or something else completely.
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