Kennel cough

• Important to establish lower vs upper respiratory tract problem as something in the lungs can be more serious than URT
• Is it more difficult to inhale or exhale when blocked.

  More difficult to inhale. E.g. with BOAS dogs more congested and difficult to inhale.
• Stertor

  Like snoring; low pitched soft tissue vibration. Soft palate, everted laryngeal saccules. Common with BOAS.
• Stridor

  high pitched wheezing; vibration of rigid tissues. tracheal or laryngeal. laryngeal paralysis. tracheal collapse.
• systemic signs


  pyrexia

  depression

  lethargey

  inappetance

  hyporexia

  anorexia
• what is CIRD/ CIRDc?

  Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease complex. “kennel cough” but not always on kennels. often mild/moderate but occasionally severe/fatal.
• clinical presentation of CIRDc?


  hacking cough +/- productive.

  submandibular lymphadenopathy (enlarged)

  ocular/ nasal discharge

  lethargy

  pyrexia
• causes of CIRDc?

  Initially low pathogenicity virus (CPiV, CRCoV, CAV-2).

  disrupts mucociliary escalator.

  allows invasion of bystander/ secondary bacteria.
• canine parainfluenza virus

  enveloped RNA virus. upper respiratory tract only. subcutaneous and untranslated vaccines. RNA mutates very easily due to how they're transcribed. envelope also means they are harder to kill than non-enveloped virus’s.
• canine adenovirus-2?

  Non-enveloped DNA virus. closely related to CAV-1 (infectious canine hepatitis). vaccine based on CAV-2 protects against both pathogens.

  part of core vaccine schedule.
• canine respiratory coronavirus

  Enveloped RNA virus. Not the same as canine enteric coronavirus. Firs discovered associated with URT disease in Battersea dogs home.
• Bordetella bronciseptica

  grame negative aerobic coccobacillus. can be primary or secondary. disease from mild to severe. can spread between dogs, cats and humans. shedding post infection up to 12 weeks. the first vaccine is live so has zoonotic potential (intranasal).
• canine distemper virus

  Enveloped RNA virus. Shed in all bodily fluids, causes bronchopneumonia, purulent ocular and nasal discharge, haemorrhagic vomiting and diarrhoea, nuerologcal signs, hyperkeratosis.
• canine influenza

  most outbreaks so far in the USA or Asia. around 80% dogs infected. cough, purulent nasal discharge , lasts 10-30 days. Can start being infectious before you show clinical signs.
• Strep equi

  High morbidity (90%)

  High mortality (50%)

  Pyrexia, bloody nasal discharge, haematemesis.
• transmission routes for CIRD

  Mainly by aerosol

  some direct transmisstion possible

  apart from CAV (and Bordetella to a lesser extent), environmentally labile
• symptomatic treatment

  Avoid choke chains and pulling on collar. Clean eyes and nose. NSAIDs may aid if Pyrexia - not for cough.

  paracetemol

  Butorphanol, codeine

  Glycerin.
• NSAIDs vs steroids

  most NSAIDs are very good at being antipyretic, paracetemol is better. NSAIDs affect the prostoglandin receptors further down the inflammatory cascade while steroids will act on the whole inflammatory cascade.

  prostoglandins help with bronchodilation, if give something that blocks the prostoglandin receptors then can make the breathing worse.
• Pneumonia

  can develop following initial URT disease. cough?? Dyspnoea/ tachypnoea. May be life threatening very quickly. may have marked pyrexia (not always).
• prevention

  environmental hygeine. Dog-to-dog contact. Fomite transmission. Ventilation. Vaccination
• Respiratory vaccines

  Parainfluenza - live, subcutaneous OR intranasal (combined with bordetella).

  Distemper - live, subcutaneous