Canine influenza causes Animal Humane Society’s Twin Cities shelters to close

Olivia Stevens, Pioneer Press
·2 min read

All three Twin Cities metro Animal Humane Society adoption centers closed Thursday for about six weeks after the organization discovered nearly 200 possible cases of canine influenza, a highly infectious disease in dogs.

Testing to confirm the cases at the Golden Valley, Woodbury and Coon Rapids shelters is ongoing, with length of quarantine and all precautions taken having been recommended by the Minnesota Board of Animal Health based on signs of disease, according to a press release from AHS.

Concern also was raised because dogs were transported to the shelters on March 23 from an Oklahoma shelter with a confirmed outbreak, according to a press release from the state Board of Animal Health.

AHS said in the release they planned to contact all people who adopted animals after March 23 to alert them of the potential for exposure to the virus and provide free medication and “supportive care” to adopted dogs exhibiting symptoms.

While shelter animals do not interact with owned animals in the shelters, the AHS said they also planned to alert those who visited the shelters for training classes and vet appointments as well as rescue partners, community veterinarians and owners who have been reunited with pets.

Michael Crusan, communications director at the Board of Animal Health, said the state organization have now advised the affected shelters to vaccinate all dogs for the virus, which the organization had not been doing because canine influenza is rare in Minnesota.

Dog owners should contact their veterinarian for guidance on canine influenza, Crusan said. However, some vets have alerted the Board that they have been unable to order the vaccine due to supply chain issues.

“If your veterinarian might have some on hand or might be able to order some — it’s kind of a case by case basis,” said Crusan. “We we don’t really know who might have the vaccine at their clinic already or who might have already placed an order for them.”

Signs in dogs are similar to signs of influenza in humans: sneezing, coughing, discharge in the eyes and nose and lethargy. The virus can cause severe illness, but AHS said they expect their dogs to recover due to medical treatment, and the virus is not considered transmittable to humans or most other animals,.

Cats can, in rare cases, contract canine influenza, but they rarely develop symptoms or spread it to other animals, according to the AHS. There is currently no signs of the virus in AHS’ cat populations.

The outbreak seems to be contained to the organization and should not affect unrelated facilities, according to Crusan.

“Everything so far that we’re seeing is logically connected,” he said.

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