Norway’s animal and food safety authority (Mattilsynet) no longer thinks contact among dogs should be restricted. An outbreak of a mysterious virus that sickened and killed scores of dogs in Norway in recent weeks seems to be over, nor was it deemed to be contagious.
“After new analysis and lots of testing we have altered our recommendations,” Ole-Herman Tronerud, a veterinarian and senior advisor at Mattilsynet, told state broadcaster NRK. “We’ve had fewer cases of sick dogs, also at veterinary clinics, and the Veterinarian Institute reports the same. We have had an outbreak that is more or less over.”
The cause of the outbreak still hasn’t been determined, but the number of cases of dogs suddenly falling ill with bloody diarrhea has fallen, Tronerud said. Tests and autopsies also revealed that dogs did not seem to infect one another with the disease. In nearly all cases where a sick dog lived with other dogs, only the one dog fell ill.
Tronerud advised all dog owners, however, to immediately contact a vet if their dog becomes sick and especially if symptoms include stomach trouble. Nearly 200 dogs fell ill and at least 40 died in the recent nationwide outbreak that will continue to be studied.
newsinenglish.no staff
