Three dogs die of respiratory illness at a Florida shelter. What is being done in response?
Three dogs died at a South Florida animal shelter this week from a mysterious respiratory disease affecting canines nationwide, and that has led to a halt in accepting new dogs there until Monday.
The Palm Beach County Animal Care shelter announced its plan on Thursday, two days after the dogs, ages 3 to 2 months old, fell ill and died of a respiratory disease known as Streptococcus equi zooepidemicus — often referred to as Strep Zo. The disease causes fever, cough and lethargy in dogs, similar to “kennel cough,” according to the National Institutes of Health.
The respiratory ailment has been reported in hundreds of dogs in more than a dozen states since November, including in Florida and Georgia. Oregon has seen the most cases with over 200, CBS News reported.
Last month, Miami-Dade County Animal Services issued an advisory urging dog owners to take precaution, the Miami Herald reported.
READ MORE: Is your dog coughing? Mysterious respiratory illness is spreading. How to protect a pet
“These three cases were the first time [Animal Care and Control] has seen this virulent pathogen, and it is important for all local veterinarians, rescues and shelters to be aware of its presence,” the shelter posted on Facebook, after seeking guidance from Cynda Crawford, chair of Shelter Medicine at the University of Florida.
“The recommendation from the UF specialist is that we really make sure that we don’t bring any other dogs in. That we treat every dog we have here with an antibiotic and give it 72 hours to kill all the bugs,” the shelter’s director, Jan Steele, told WPTV.
Animals at the West Palm Beach shelter have been quarantined, and all dogs there have received an injection and oral antibiotics, in some cases, that is designed to kill the infection within 72 hours after the final dose.
This story was originally published December 15, 2023 at 4:45 PM.
