ATTENTION

CANINE INFLUENZA VIRUS

Old Dominion Animal Health Center is now requiring Canine Influenza Virus (CIV) vaccinations for all dogs that are coming in for boarding, grooming, training, or elective medical procedures. This is a new vaccine and is recommended by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the USDA.

Canine influenza is a new disease, so dogs have no immunity to it. It causes fever and respiratory signs that can progress to pneumonia and, in extreme cases, even death. Recently there have been outbreaks in Fairfax County leading to the closing of their shelter for a couple of weeks.

It is highly contagious and is spread easily wherever many dogs get together: at dog parks, day care, training classes, in kennels, at grooming facilities, or in animal hospital environments. It is spread by direct contact with respiratory secretions from infected dogs, by contact with contaminated objects, and by people moving between infected and uninfected dogs.

The vaccine is given as a series of two subcutaneous (just underneath the skin) vaccines, then as an annual booster. A physical exam is NOT required.

We want to vaccinate well in advance of possible exposure if at all possible. Please keep this in mind when visiting dog parks or doggie day care. Please call us if you have any questions or concerns.

For more information, visit:

• http://www.cdc.gov/flu/canine/

• www.aphis.usda.gov/newsroom/content/2009/06/caninevacc.shtml

• www.avma.org