Urgent Warning To All Pet Owners As Dog Is Dying From Deadly Human Disease – 10 Signs To Know
A PET dog has died after testing positive for bird flu, health officials said.
The dog, from Ontario, Canada, became infected after chewing on a wild goose, developed symptoms and died.
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An autopsy found the dog’s respiratory system was affected, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said on Tuesday.
“It is the only case of its kind in Canada,” it said in a statement.
“Based on current evidence in Canada, the risk to the general public remains low, and current scientific evidence suggests that the risk of a human catching avian influenza from a pet is low,” he added.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) has previously warned dog owners to keep a close eye on their pets while walking near shore during the avian flu outbreak.
“Although the risk of your dog contracting AI is extremely low, your dog could become contaminated and spread it to other areas. Also, dead and dying birds can carry a number of other diseases that could pose a health risk to your dog,” a charity spokesman said.
The virus has wiped out millions of birds worldwide in the last two years, but it’s also affecting other animals like seals, otters, porpoises and foxes
Just last month the virus killed two dolphins in Devon and Pembrokeshire.
It comes as experts fear the bug could mutate, making it even more harmful to humans than it currently is.
The World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) warned that mammals could act as “mixing vessels” for different viruses, which could lead to a new variant that is “more harmful” to humans.
The H5N1 strain already has a human mortality rate of around 50 percent – 870 people have contracted bird flu in the past 20 years and 457 of them have died.
Scientists are urging the government to develop a new bird flu vaccine before the virus learns to spread more efficiently among humans.
The 10 symptoms of bird flu in humans
According to the NHS, the main symptoms of bird flu in humans can appear very quickly and include:
- a very high temperature or feeling hot or chills
- Muscle cramp
- Headache
- cough or shortness of breath
- Diarrhea
- Illness
- stomach pain
- chest pain
- bleeding from the nose and gums
- conjunctivitis
How to protect your pets from bird flu
While the risk to pet dogs from bird flu is usually very low. But it is still worth protecting your animal:
- Do not feed raw wild game or poultry to pets (e.g. dogs or cats).
- Do not allow pets to eat or play with dead wild birds found outside
- Consult your vet if you have any questions about your pet’s health
Source: Canadian Food Inspection Agency
https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/health/10473457/bird-flu-dog-canada/ Urgent Warning To All Pet Owners As Dog Is Dying From Deadly Human Disease – 10 Signs To Know
