Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How common is dog flu in Southern Italy pets
By Pratelli, Annamaria & Colao, Valeriana·Published in The new microbiologica·2014·Department of Veterinary Medicine, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: A population prevalence study on influenza infection in dogs in Southern Italy.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study in Southern Italy found that about 3.56% of dogs tested positive for influenza, which is a virus that can affect both dogs and humans. Researchers tested 562 dogs from homes and kennels using a specific blood test and found that some dogs had antibodies for the H3N8 and H3N2 strains of the virus. This suggests that while the overall prevalence is low, there may be more cases that go undetected. The study highlights the importance of testing dogs for influenza, especially since they can spread the virus to humans.
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Abstract
Despite several data on influenza infection in dogs, the first natural outbreak of canine influenza virus, closely related to H3N8 equine subtype, dates back to 2004 in Florida. Subsequent studies highlighted the role of dogs in adaptation of H5N1 to mammals and the susceptibility of dogs to different subtypes of influenza. A prevalence study was carried out on 562 sera collected from pet and kennel dogs in the south of Italy. A c-ELISA test was employed and c-ELISA-positive, c-ELISA-doubtful and random c-ELISA-negative samples were also tested in subtype- specific HI test using H3N8 and H3N2 strains. c-ELISA detected a positivity of 3.56%. HI performed with the H3N8 revealed 2 positive samples and when performed with the H3N2, HI revealed 47 positive samples. c-ELISA proved to be a sensitive and specific technique. HI is a specific method only when the test antigen is homologous to the circulating virus and, because non-specific-hemagglutination inhibitors may be present in dog sera, false positives can result. The study emphasizes that due to their close contact with humans dogs must be a target for testing. Furthermore because it remains to be determined how long antibodies to influenza virus persist in canine sera, the observed prevalence might be underestimated.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25180843/