Michigan: Unidentified virus kills 6 dogs; owners sick with flu-like symptoms- cats affected too?

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.wilx.com/home/headlines/226332001.html

Deadly Dog Virus Appears in Michigan
Posted: Thu 2:00 PM, Oct 03, 2013

...The virus has already killed six dogs in the Ann Arbor area, and veterinarians say that it may be spreading from owners to their pets.

Veterinarians don?t have a name for the virus yet; it is the first time that the virus has been seen in Michigan. Vets say that dogs with the virus show flu-like symptoms within 12 to 24 hours of being infected. They typically have severe abdominal pain, vomiting, lethargy, and bloody diarrhea. Vets recommend that if a dog begins showing symptoms, that they be seen in a vet?s office right away.

The virus shows similarity to the Circovirus that sickened dogs in parts of Ohio, and San Diego last year.

No one knows how the disease is transmitted...The owners of the affected dogs were also ill, with flu-like symptoms. Doctors recommend that people wash their hands and use hand sanitizer frequently to avoid spreading germs...

[Shiloh]

Re: MI: Unidentified virus kills 6 dogs; owners sick with flu-like symptoms

Source: http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/...an_sounds.html

Ann Arbor veterinarian sounds alarm: circovirus suspected in dog deaths
Amy Biolchini | amybiolchini@mlive.com By Amy Biolchini | amybiolchini@mlive.com
on October 03, 2013 at 2:42 PM, updated October 03, 2013 at 3:15 PM

An Ann Arbor area veterinarian is cautioning dog owners this week after seeing increase in what could be circovirus cases at her clinic.

Dr. Lindsay Ruland of the Emergency Veterinary Hospital in Scio Township said hundreds of dogs have been arriving at her clinic for the past year with severe abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and interstitial pneumonia.

Cases have continued to mount?and Ruland said she?s seeing more this fall than ever: about five to 10 animals come into her 24-hour clinic each week, sick with a mysterious virus. In the month of September, six of them died...

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: MI: Unidentified virus kills 6 dogs; owners sick with flu-like symptoms

Circovirus in Dogs FAQ

September 25, 2013

Canine circovirus infections have been documented in dogs with vomiting and diarrhea. The distribution of the virus in the U.S. is not yet known, but dogs infected with circovirus have been reported in California and circovirus may be associated with recent illness and death of dogs in Ohio.
Listen to our podcast (Sept 23) about the Ohio investigation.

Q: What are circoviruses?
A: Circoviruses are small viruses that have been known to infect pigs and birds. They are also known to be survive well in the environment once shed from affected animals. Porcine circoviruses are very common throughout the world. Porcine circovirus 2 can cause postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome in 2-4 month old piglets, resulting in weight loss, poor growth and high death rates. Although porcine circoviruses were first identified more than 30 years ago, there is still much unknown about the viruses. Circovirus can also infect birds, causing beak and feather disease in psittacine birds (such as parrots, parakeets, budgies and cockatiels), infectious anemia in chickens, and deadly infections in pigeons, canaries and finches.

Q: What is canine circovirus/dog circovirus?
A: The circovirus identified in dogs shares more similarity to porcine circovirus than to the avian circovirus, but it is not the same as porcine circovirus. This canine circovirus was first reported in June 2012 as part of a genetic screening of canine samples for new viruses (Kapoor et al 2012). Circovirus was detected in 2.9% of canine sera collected for routine serological testing. In April 2013, a similar virus was detected in a California dog that presented to the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine for worsening vomiting (containing blood) and diarrhea. PCR tests on dogs with and without clinical disease indicate a prevalence rate of between 2.9-11.3%. The data suggest that this new virus, either alone or as a co-infection with other pathogens (disease-causing organisms, such as bacteria and viruses), might contribute to dog illness and deaths. However, the authors also reported that circovirus was identified in the stool of 14 out of 204 healthy dogs, suggesting that infection with circovirus does not always result in illness.

There is still much to learn about this newly identified virus, including its role in disease.

Q: Are the dogs in Ohio infected with circovirus?
A: Maybe, and maybe not. And if they are infected with circovirus, it may not be the cause of the dogs' illnesses. Circovirus has been suggested as a possible cause of illness and death of dogs in several parts of Ohio in late August/early September 2013, but it has not been confirmed. Circovirus was detected in the stool of one ill dog in Ohio, which is the first time the virus has been identified in Ohio, but this does not mean that circovirus has been confirmed as the cause of any of the recent illnesses. The Ohio Department of Agriculture continues to investigate the illnesses, and this will take time.

Q: How are dogs being infected with circovirus?
A: The route of infection is still unknown, but the basic principles of viral spreading suggest that direct contact with an infected dog or its vomit or diarrhea would present a higher risk of infection. However, many viruses can be spread from animal to animal through the use of shared bedding and equipment or through human contact with an infected animal prior to handling of an uninfected animal. In pigs, circovirus is spread through the manure and through contact with respiratory secretions.

Although some of the dogs showing clinical disease were recently boarded or at doggie daycare facilities, this should not be taken as an indication that this virus is only spread at boarding kennels or that boarding your dog or taking it to day care will result in infection. Any parent who has taken their child to daycare knows that a high concentration of children in an area can increase the spread of colds and other illnesses; the same thing can happen when dogs are gathered in an area.

...

https://www.avma.org/KB/Resources/Pages/Circovirus-in-Dogs-Frequently-Asked-Questions.aspx

[alert]

Re: MI: Unidentified virus kills 6 dogs; owners sick with flu-like symptoms

This is very odd. If it is a canine circovirus, would that affect humans? If it is canine influenza instead, I know that has never infected humans before.

Could it be a human influenza virus that is infecting dogs? That would be pretty unprecedented, too.

[Lizw]

Re: MI: Unidentified virus kills 6 dogs; owners sick with flu-like symptoms

From the website Life With Dogs:

Dog owners of the midwest, beware: there?s a deadly disease striking dogs, and it may be spreading to them by their owners. Flu-like symptoms may be present, and can be fatal within 12-24 hours of contracting it.

Cases of the virus similar to circovirus (typically associated with pigs) have been reported all across Ohio, and now six Michigan dogs have died from it. There is no name for the mysterious illness, because veterinarians and scientists aren?t exactly sure what it is yet.

?The laboratory confirmation is important because the virus is newly isolated, however we are not prepared at this time to confirm that canine circovirus is the cause of the dog illnesses,? said State Veterinarian Dr. Tony Forshey. ?Because the symptoms being exhibited can also be linked to other known illnesses, additional analysis and information is needed to determine if this virus alone or in co-infection contributes to illness and death in dogs.?

Symptoms can include lethargy, abdominal pain, lack of appetite, and most notably, vomiting and bloody diarrhea. Dogs displaying these symptoms should be rushed to a vet, especially if someone they?ve been in close contact with is also under the weather. Dogs can be saved, but only if they are treated immediately.

?Usually within about 12 to 24 hours of it starting,? said Dr. Lindsay Ruland of the Emergency Veterinary Hospital in Ann Arbor.

It is unknown how the virus is transmitted, but it may be spreading through saliva and feces. No humans or other animals are believed to have died from the virus, but doctors are recommending that people wash their hands thoroughly with antibacterial soap and hot water before and after touching their pets and their pets? food, bedding, toys, etc. For the time, none of these items should be shared between animals, especially if people around them have had flu-like symptoms, and contact between dogs should be limited, or avoided altogether if it is known that a dog (or its human) has been sick recently.

?Traditionally we don?t pass viruses to our pets. This year, I think that there is potential that we are passing it to our pets,? Dr. Ruland said.

[Emily]

Re: MI: Unidentified virus kills 6 dogs; owners sick with flu-like symptoms

http://starbeacon.com/nationalnews/x...higan-vet-says

October 4, 2013
Dog-killing illness may affect humans, Michigan vet says

By KATHY LYNN GRAY The Columbus Dispatch

A Michigan veterinarian said this morning that a virus believed to be killing dogs in Ohio may be what has been sickening and killing dogs in her state for more than a year.
...
?This is like nothing we?ve ever seen before, and I don?t know if it?s multiple viruses in combination or just the circovirus,? said Ruland. She said she?s seen the symptoms mostly in dogs but in a few cats, rabbits and a swan.
...
Ruland said the symptoms have shown up at their emergency clinic during the human flu season, beginning in August, and appear to show up in dogs whose owners also have flu-like symptoms. She said she and her staff have had flu-like symptoms after treating dogs with the symptoms.

She said human symptoms are abdominal pain, nausea and breathing issues.

?You just feel crummy for a long time, but for the most part people here are able to work through it,? she said...

This might not be related to the Ohio cases, since the article says no humans were sick there.

[Shiloh]

Re: MI: Unidentified virus kills 6 dogs; owners sick with flu-like symptoms

Source: http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/two-cas...gs-in-michigan

Two cases of circovirus confirmed in dogs in Michigan
Last Updated: 4 hours and 59 minutes ago

EAST LANSING, Mich. (WXYZ) - The Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health at the Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine has now confirmed two cases of canine circovirus in Michigan...

[Emily]

Re: MI: Unidentified virus kills 6 dogs; owners sick with flu-like symptoms

Something that at least sounds very much like the circovirus found in dogs has been found in human stool in the U.S.:

Rapidly expanding genetic diversity and host range of the Circoviridae viral family and other Rep encoding small circular ssDNA genomes

Cycloviruses were not detected in 247 human stool samples from the US but 12 (5%) of them contained PCV1 or PCV2 (Li et al, 2010).

Multiple Diverse Circoviruses Infect Farm Animals and Are Commonly Found in Human and Chimpanzee Feces

The two genomes derived from human stool samples in the United States (MN614 and MN500) shared 99% overall genome nucleotide similarity with PCV2.
...
Whether PCVs simply pass through or are capable of replication in the human gut remains unknown.

Even if it is the same virus and is more dangerous in dogs, it shouldn't be a problem if good sanitation prevents dogs from ingesting the virus. Maybe this is tougher to accomplish in homes with children in diapers.
Also I wonder about this scenario that could explain dogs getting infected without their human caretakers being infected:

Toward a consensus view on the infectious risks associated with land application of sewage sludge.

Other than accidental direct ingestion, the highest public risks of infection from land application are associated with airborne exposure.

So the risk to other species that might nibble things on the ground, or ingest sludge while cleaning fur or feathers could be there.

[Emily]

Re: MI: Unidentified virus kills 6 dogs; owners sick with flu-like symptoms

Here's some research that suggest that humans have been infected with and sickened by a virus similar to porcine circovirus years before PCV2 disease was believed to sicken pigs.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7544971

Arch Virol. 1995;140(8):1427-39.
Presence of antibodies reacting with porcine circovirus in sera of humans, mice, and cattle.
Tischer I, Bode L, Apodaca J, Timm H, Peters D, Rasch R, Pociuli S, Gerike E.
Source

Robert Koch-Institut Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany.
Abstract

Antibodies reacting with porcine circovirus (PCV) were found in sera of humans, mice, and cattle by means of an indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and an ELISA. In man, the highest seroprevalence (23.9% in IFA and 30.2% in ELISA) was found among hospitalized patients with fever of partially unclear etiology. Non-hospitalized "healthy" persons of the former German Democratic Republic showed a significantly higher number of positive sera (IFA = 20%) than blood donors from Berlin-West (IFA = 8.6%). Murine sera reacted positive with PCV in IFA between 12 to 69% in different breeding groups and about 35% of cattle sera were found reactive with PCV in IFA. Double-staining IFAs, immuno-electron microscopy and immunoblotting showed that non-porcine antibodies reacted with PCV structural antigen. Mathematical analysis revealed that in ELISA, non-porcine antibodies reacted specifically with PCV. Loss of binding specificity of non-porcine antibodies in ELISA after storage of sera and lower maximal optical densities obtained at equal titers in ELISA with non-porcine than with porcine sera suggest that antibodies in man, mice and cattle are caused by related species specific viruses sharing antigenic epitopes with PCV.

PMID:
7544971
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

[alert]

Re: MI: Unidentified virus kills 6 dogs; owners sick with flu-like symptoms

ProMED moderators don't like this explanation:

Published Date: 2013-10-06 12:38:24
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Circovirus, canine - USA (03): (MI) suspected
Archive Number: 20131006.1986042

CIRCOVIRUS, CANINE - USA (03): (MICHIGAN) SUSPECTED
************************************************** *
A ProMED-mail post

http://www.promedmail.org

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

http://www.isid.org

Date: Fri 4 Oct 2013
Source: CBS Local Detroit [edited]

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2013/10/04/2-cases-of-new-dog-virus-confirmed-in-michigan/

Researchers at Michigan State University say at least 2 cases of a newly identified dog virus have shown up in Michigan.

The university's Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health said it found canine circovirus in samples from 2 dogs submitted by veterinary clinics. But acting director Thomas Mullaney said both animals were infected with other organisms, so it's uncertain whether the virus caused their sicknesses.

"Currently, circovirus by itself is not associated with a specific disease process," he said. But it has been shown to cause disease when combined with other viruses or bacteria in other species, including pigs.

Veterinarians at a clinic in Ann Arbor say they've treated a number of dogs that died after exhibiting signs of the virus, including vomiting, lethargy and diarrhea.

"They're coming in here and they're dying very quickly," Dr. Lindsay Ruland told WWJ Newsradio 950's Kathryn Larson.

But the university center said the reports are no reason for dog owners to panic. It said veterinarians should look for circovirus in animals only after ruling out more common causes of the same signs.

*****Canine circovirus was 1st reported in 2012. Infections have been reported in California. The American Veterinary Medical Association says the virus initially was suspected of killing several dogs in Ohio in August and September [2013], but is no longer being considered as the primary cause of their deaths.*****

Experts don't know how dogs are being infected, although the highest risk of spreading viruses comes through contact with an infected animal.

Ruland said the flu-like signs can progress rapidly. She urged concerned pet owners to monitor their animals, and not to hesitate to take them to an urgent care clinic or to the vet if symptoms develop.

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>

[There is not enough known about this virus in dogs. The clinical signs are flu-like, including vomiting and diarrhea. Differential diagnosis may include parvovirus. The virus in pigs produces similar clinical signs and also causes rapid death.

Hopefully our knowledge of this virus will progress. Is it a primary killer? Or is it a secondary invader to an animal whose immune system is already weakened for some reason? More information is clearly needed regarding this virus. In a previous post, it was suggested with only weak anecdotal evidence that the virus may be a zoonotic virus.

Michigan may be located on the HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map at: http://healthmap.org/r/2_1t. - Mod.TG]


See Also
Circovirus, canine - USA (02): (MI) RFI 20131005.1984833
Undiagnosed virus, canine - USA: (OH), deaths, RFI 20130907.1928773
[Both outbreaks now considered not to be due to circovirus alone -- see ***** above

[Emily]

Re: MI: Unidentified virus kills 6 dogs; owners sick with flu-like symptoms

They updated the Mlive article that Shiloh posted.
Maybe this report about the families of hospital workers getting sick with the same symptoms is new:

At Ruland?s clinic, it?s not just the pet owners and their dogs that have reported the same symptoms.

Ruland and her staff have reportedly become sick after working with dogs with the virus?as have their families at home. Their symptoms include abdominal pain, signs of a common cold and pneumonia?which led Ruland to believe that it?s not just circovirus.

Also, I hadn't noticed that some humans were getting pneumonia from this. The article says the outbreak seems worse this year than last and ends with this unfortunate note:

Ruland also advised that people that work in hospitals or with sick patients to change their clothes before interacting with their pets.

Last year Ruland said she sounded the alarm to several state and federal agencies, but no action was taken as there were no tests completed.

?I wish someone had listened last year,? Ruland said.

There's a new Mlive article, too.

http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/...vet_conti.html

Circovirus: Ann Arbor vet continues to search for answers after dog deaths
...
Ruland said she?s observed a correlation between the sick dogs that she?s seen: in every case, the dog?s owner had had flu-like symptoms the week before.

That is the first clear statement I've seen stating that the humans were sick before their dogs got sick, so I wish some epidemiology would be done to see if the humans have anything in common as far as places they have been, hobbies, or food exposures.

Alert, that article reports that Dr. Ruland will be paying herself to have some testing done to look for evidence of human flu exposure in the sick dogs, and wants to get herself and her family tested for flu.

[alert]

Re: MI: Unidentified virus kills 6 dogs; owners sick with flu-like symptoms

Thank you for keeping on this. These reports to me seem awful like the ones that we missed early last summer that preceeded the H3N2v outbreak in swine and humans in the US, reporting simultaneous unexplained ILI in humans and animals.

Human flu doesn't affect dogs, and canine flu doesn't affect humans, so if Dr. Ruland obtains even one influenza A positive in either a human or a canine, I hope the CDC rushes in to subtype and sequence to rule out a possible reassortment or recombination event.

[Shiloh]

Re: MI: Unidentified virus kills 6 dogs; owners sick with flu-like symptoms- cats affected too?

Source: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/ind...ne_circov.html

Vet at center of canine circovirus outbreak in Michigan issues dire warning to cat lovers: They can get it, too
By John Luciew | jluciew@pennlive.com
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on November 20, 2013 at 8:30 AM, updated November 20, 2013 at 8:32 AM

Here?s an update on our story on the outbreak of the deadly, new dog disease known as canine circovirus. It comes from Dr. Lindsay Ruland. She owns a 24-hour small animal ER clinic in Michigan and is on the forefront of breaking the story in Michigan...

...?The disease, at least in our area, is picking up speed and we are seeing more cats with it now,? Ruland warned. ?The cats have not fared well and of the six cats we recently had hospitalized with symptoms, four of them passed away from multiple organ failure and acute respiratory distress, The dogs that are coming in are showing more neurological signs as well consistent with cerebral edema.?

So what is this vet?s best advice for pet owners?

?All we are able to tell owners is to monitor all pets for symptoms and get them to a vet if they begin acting lethargic, have swollen submandibular lymph nodes when they previously were not enlarged, and become anorexic,? Ruland said...

[Emily]

Re: Michigan: Unidentified virus kills 6 dogs; owners sick with flu-like symptoms- cats affected too?

Thanks for finding an update on this story, Shiloh. It seemed to disappear off the radar screen so suddenly. The Pennliv article says some of the testing is coming back negative for circovirus, even though the video and title of the article present circovirus as the cause.

I missed this article in late Oct. in DVM360:

http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/dvm...26971&pageID=2

Michigan veterinarian believes canine mystery illness is zoonotic
Dr. Lindsay Ruland's clients, staff--even her children--experience symptoms she says seem related to canine condition reported in Ohio and Michigan.
Oct 29, 2013
By: Julie Scheidegger
DVM360 MAGAZINE
...
Ruland realized that cases had begun coming in around the start of fair season and human influenza season. Swine flu had been reported in the state. ?The owners were getting sick themselves; my staff was getting more sick the more they handled the cases as well,? she says. Then Ruland herself got sick.

She says the illness in people starts with the sudden onset of severe abdominal pain, high in the abdomen. It progresses to lethargy, vomiting and bloating. After a couple days of GI symptoms, it turns respiratory with shortness of breath and coughing. ?It definitely seems flulike,? Ruland says. She and her team have also noted postviral neurological issues.

?We?re pretty certain this is zoonotic here,? Ruland says. ?I?m not going to put my reputation on the line just for nothing. I do believe in this. I got sick myself.?...

[Emily]

Re: Michigan: Unidentified virus kills 6 dogs; owners sick with flu-like symptoms- cats affected too?

GI symptoms have been associated with human cases of swine origin flu in the past.

N Engl J Med. Triple-Reassortant Swine Influenza A (H1) in Humans in the United States, 2005-2009.

Although all the patients recovered, severe illness of the lower respiratory tract and unusual influenza signs such as diarrhea were observed in some patients, including those who had been previously healthy.

Here's another quote from the DVM360 article:

And now her boys are sick. Ages 2 and almost 4, her sons are battling respiratory infections and intermittent GI symptoms. Ruland says they had full respiratory panels conducted to look for the common illnesses like influenzas and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), but all came back negative. Her youngest has suffered bloody diarrhea and the oldest was rushed to the emergency room after he woke up nearly purple with respiratory distress, she says.

Wonder if that DVM article came out when the government was in shutdown mode?