Chicago-area dogs sickened by new strain of canine flu

Puppy adoption
Delilah, a 9-week-old pit bull puppy, checks out members of the media during a news conference at Minneapolis Animal Care and Control Thursday, June 5, 2014.
Jennifer Simonson | MPR News 2014

We've been hearing a lot lately about how the avian flu is spreading through turkey farms in Minnesota. But folks in Chicago are dealing with another flu outbreak that is affecting a different type of animal.

More than a thousand dogs have been sickened in that area by a new strain of highly infectious canine flu. It hasn't been detected in the Twin Cities yet, but veterinary health officials here are keeping a close eye on the spread of the disease.

MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke with Jeff Bender, a professor and epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Center, about the canine flu.

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