VOMITING OUTBREAK IN DOGS UPDATE.
What we know so far.
Area:
Suspected cases spread from Thirroul to Albion Park and have been occurring over the last month. We became aware of our first cases last week and then contacted most of the vets in the area to alert them and collate data if needs be.
Hot zones appear to be centered around Lakelands Pk, Kanahooka Pk and the lake side of Port Kemble.
A second hot zone seems to be Al Pk/Pk Rail where dogs who have not left their yards also affected. We do not have the street addresses of most of these cases so cannot narrow down the zone.
Size/Age:
Most but not all dogs have been Toy to Medium size, 1-3 years old. More recent reports in are of 3 Labradors affected.
Possible causes:
Bacterial: unlikely given some dogs on antibiotics when fell ill and many have not needed any antibiotics to recover.
Contaminant from Council spraying: We did contact Wollongong council where most of initial cases occurred, but now with a cluster in Al Pk, unless Shellharbour using the same product-this is less likely.
Food: Always possible but we have no common link as yet.
Virus: Probably. Given so many people out walking in such huge numbers and every day not just weekends, then a virus is possible. We are not suspecting Covid-19 or Parvo.
Advice:
Avoid the hot spots if you can: but If you could avoid walking your well dog for a couple of days, that may help stop the spread.
If your pet is or has been unwell, consider avoiding walking it Anywhere for a good 7 days post recovery.
Leave your walking shoes at your front door if safe to do so.
Email us via [email protected] with your street name, dog’s age, size, food you feed and where you walk your pet so we can build the data map.
Please see your own vet if you have any concerns. Some dogs with this issue have had mild cases, others have vomited so suddenly and violently they had mild seizures afterwards. Regardless, there are many other reasons a dog could be vomiting besides this bug. Those causes may need urgent veterinary attention so don’t presume any vomiting at the moment is just this bug. If your pet is unwell and you are concerned, vets, even during Covid -19 will consult on this this type of patient.