CINCINNATI — As of April 14, 25 dogs have had to be euthanized at a Cincinnati Animal CARE shelter as an outbreak of canine distemper virus (CDV) has continued to spread.
As a result, Cincinnati Animal CARE is not accepting new dogs at the Northside shelter until further notice.
A press release from Cincinnati Animal CARE said the outbreak began on April 3, when the shelter confirmed two cases of CDV in stray dogs that had arrived at the Northside shelter. By April 14, CAC has confirmed 33 cases of CDV out of 75 tests that were sent to labs.
The highly contagious virus causes multiple symptoms, including fever, cough, swelling of paw pads, nasal and eye discharge, gastrointestinal distress and more.
The shelter is now working with Dr. Cynda Crawford, an expert on CDV in shelters from the University of Florida. Crawford has helped over 100 shelters nationwide get through CDV outbreaks, discovered the canine influenza virus and developed its vaccine, CAC said.
"We are not out of the woods yet," said Meaghan Colville, CAC's director of lifesaving operations, in a press release. "We still have tests going out every day, we're moving dogs who tested positive but are asymptomatic or experiencing mild symptoms to another off-site facility that we're hopeful to have up and running in the next week."
As a result of Crawford's advice, CAC is emphasizing a need for community sheltering of dogs in the region. Dogs in CAC's Northside shelter with negative CDV tests and antibody tests confirming immunity have been medically cleared for adoption or foster, CAC said.
CDV mostly affects unvaccinated dogs and puppies. Dogs are routinely vaccinated for this virus, but if an unvaccinated animal comes into the shelter with the virus — which can lie dormant for roughly two weeks — the vaccine is not effective, Cincinnati Animal CARE said.
"This is a matter of life and death," said Colville. "Since restricting intake, we've seen more than 80 dogs come through in the last week, but that is not sustainable. More dogs will get sick if we continue at the rate of the hundreds og dogs we see on a monthly basis. Without help from the public, we will lose healthy dogs."
Newly accepted dogs are being held at 4210 Dane Avenue in Northside, blocks from the Hamilton County Shelter, where those interested can adopt or foster a dog. The Pet Adoption Center on Highland Avenue in Pleasant Ridge will also reopen for adoptions this weekend, CAC said.
Since cats are not affected by the virus, they'll continue to enter and exit the Northside shelter like normal. CDV is also not transmissible from dogs to humans.
CDV has been largely eradicated in the region, so the outbreak is uncommon. CAC officials said it's still unclear where the outbreak originated and stressed the importance of vaccinating pets.
"Get your pets vaccinated. I know there's been a lot of debate about vaccines in humans in the last few years. But when it comes to your pets, these save lives," he said. "These are largely eradicated illnesses that we do not want to see making a comeback."
Cincinnati Animal CARE is also accepting donations to help make the quarantine more bearable for the dogs. The shelter has set up wishlists on Amazon and Chewy with items they need to ease this process on staff and animals alike.
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