Kennel Cough - Dogs - Dog Information

Kennel cough or tracheobronchitis is a highly contagious canine illness characterized by inflammation of the upper respiratory system. It can be caused by viral infections such as canine distemper, canine adenovirus, canine parainfluenza virus, or canine respiratory coronavirus, or bacterial infections such as Bordetella bronchiseptica.[1] It is so named because the infection can spread quickly among dogs, such as in the close quarters of a kennel.

Infection
Both viral and bacterial causes of kennel cough are spread through the air by infected dogs sneezing and coughing. It can also spread through contact with contaminated surfaces and through direct contact. It is highly contagious, even days or weeks after symptoms disappear. Symptoms begin usually 3 to 5 days after exposure.[1] The disease can progress to pneumonia.
Contact with other dogs must be avoided at all costs and the infected animal must be quarantined within your own home.
If your dog was infected whilst being housed at a Kennel or the Vet\'s surgery; then it should be reported promptly to the animal welfare officer at your local council or the council of the area where the infection took place.

Symptoms
Symptoms can include a harsh, dry hacking/coughing, retching, sneezing, snorting, gagging or vomiting in response to light pressing of the trachea or after excitement or exercise. The presence of a fever varies from case to case. The disease can last initially from 10-20 days and can rebreak when the dog is put into a stressful situation which puts stress on the dog\'s immune system. Diagnosis is made by seeing these symptoms, having a history of exposure is also helpful but not always found as kennel cough is easily spread through contact with contaminated surfaces such as the ground, toys, and sidewalks.

$\"image$ Kennel cough in dogs is a common and annoying condition that can affect any dog. Fortunately, despite the severe-sounding cough the condition produces, in most cases it is a self-limiting disease, and can frequently run its course without medical intervention.

Known also as bordetella or canine infectious tracheobronchitis, kennel cough is so known due to it’s high frequency of occurrence in any facility that houses dogs, such as kennels and shelters. However, the name is often misleading, as a dog can develop kennel cough without ever having set foot in a kennel, shelter or other facility due to its highly infectious nature.

Kennel cough is caused by a combination three major infectious agents- the bacteria bordetella bronchiseptica, and the viruses parinfluenza and adenovirus type II. Usually these infections work together, causing damage to and irritating the lining of the dogs’ trachea and upper bronchii. While the damage done to the tracheal lining is in most cases very mild, nerve endings in the area become exposed to the air passing through the trachea, causing irritation and discomfort.

The spread of kennel cough is similar to the spread of the common cold in humans. The organisms can become airborne after being expelled by a coughing dog, carried in the air in microscopic particles of dust and water vapor. A susceptible dog must only breathe the infected air to take in the organisms, where they attach to the warm, moist lining of the trachea and upper airway to live and replicate, damaging the cells they infect.

As it can be spread airborne, kennel cough is extremely common in any place where dogs are being confined together in a single environment- boarding kennels, animal shelters, dog shows- any place where there are many dogs together, there is likely to lurk kennel cough.

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