Dozens of dogs around the U.S. have been stricken with a new and highly contagious dog flu. The virus is in the H3N8 family and is genetically related to the equine influenza strain. It's unclear whether it has jumped from horses.
"As with any emerging infectious disease, the whole picture is not clear at this time," said Dr. Ann E. Hohenhaus, D.V.M., chief of medicine at the Animal Medical Center in New York.
Greyhounds at racetracks seem to be the most infected with the disease, but it has also been spreading among household dogs. Symptoms superficially resemble kennel cough and the animal usually dies. So far no humans have come down with the virus.
