Is canine influenza contagious?
Like influenza infections in other species, canine influenza is highly contagious. Infected dogs shed virus in their respiratory secretions for 7 to 10 days, during which time the dog is contagious to other dogs. Infected dogs that do not show clinical signs are also contagious. Once the virus has run its course, the dog is no longer contagious. Therefore, we recommend that dogs with canine influenza be isolated from other dogs for two weeks to err on the conservative side. The canine influenze virus does not cause a permanent infection. How is canine influenza diagnosed? Canine influenza cannot be diagnosed by clinical signs because all of the other respiratory pathogens cause similar signs of coughing, sneezing and nasal discharge. For dogs that have been ill for less than four days, veterinarians can collect swabs from the nose or throat and submit them to a diagnostic laboratory that offers a validated PCR test for canine influenza virus. The most accurate test recommended for conf
