At Westside Veterinary Clinic, we are now requiring dogs who are being boarded, bathed, or dropped off for examination or treatment to be vaccinated for the H3N2 strain of Canine Influenza Virus (CIV).

We also highly recommend CIV vaccination for all dogs with contact with other dogs outside their immediate household. This would include any dog who is groomed, boarded, visits parks, or travels with owner. These are the same dogs in which we recommend kennel cough vaccination.

This new requirement is in response to the recent spread of CIV H3N2 in 6 new states, including Louisiana and Texas. The current outbreak has been associated with AKC shows in those states and has resulted in the virus crossing over into the pet population. Arkansas has an AKC show scheduled in August. There is a high probability that CIV will spread to the Arkansas dog population in the near future.

CIV H3N2 is a highly contagious virus that causes respiratory disease in dogs. The symptoms include sneezing, coughing, fever, nasal discharge, lack of appetite, or decreased energy. About 20% of the infected dogs develop severe symptoms that can include pneumonia.

CIV has been associated with one outbreak in shelter cats but has not yet been diagnosed in the general cat population. There is no CIV vaccine available for cats currently.

There is no evidence to date that humans are at risk from CIV H3N2.

Further information about CIV can be found at these websites: