Dogs catch flu directly from birds, study finds

Several pet dogs became ill and died from what turned out to be purely avian strains of seasonal flu virus, the researchers reported in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.

"Our data provide evidence that dogs may play a role in interspecies transmission and spread of influenza virus," Daesub Song of Green Cross Veterinary Products Company Ltd in Yong-in, South Korea and colleagues reported on human flu strain. But the varieties that infect birds and people look different on the genetic level.

Song's team investigated outbreaks among dogs.

"From May through September 2007, cases of severe respiratory disease occurred in animals at three veterinary clinics located 10 to 30km apart in Kyunggi Province and one kennel located in Jeolla Province (southern South Korea)," they wrote. MORE>>