‘Funky Bacterium’ Suspected to Be Cause of Mystery Dog Illness Spreading in U.S.

The culprit behind an emerging dog illness that has sickened thousands of dogs across the United States in the past year may have been pinpointed.

Researchers now believe the illness causing severe respiratory infections in dogs could be caused by a “funky bacterium.”

The mystery illness causes dogs to develop cough, runny eyes, sneezing, lethargy and does not respond well to traditional antibiotics. It has resulted in several dog deaths as well.

Scientists across the country have been working hard to find out what has stricken the dogs and researchers at the University of New Hampshire’s Veterinary Diagnosis Laboratory and the Hubbard Center for Genome Studies say it might be a new type of bacterial infection.

They say they have discovered the new bacterium through genetic sequencing of samples from 30 dogs in New Hampshire who got sick in 2022, according to NBC News. They then further tested samples from 40 dogs from Rhode Island and Massachusetts who were sick in 2023.

Dr. David Needle, pathology section chief at the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture at the University of New Hampshire, said the pathogen is a “funky bacterium.”

“It’s smaller than a normal bacterium in its size and in the size of its genome,” he told NBC News. “Long story short, it’s a weird bacterium that can be tough to find and sequence.”

The germ “is new as a potential cause of disease, but it is likely to be — or to have evolved from — a component of the dog microbiome,” Needle added.

Needle contributed the breakthrough to a very dedicated grad student. “After initial sequencing showed there were no known viral, bacterial or fungal pathogens, time consuming and dogged work by graduate student Lawrence Gordon showed that 21 of the initial 30 samples from New Hampshire had some genetic material from one atypical bacterial species.”

Now further work has to be done to verify that this pathogen is what is causing the illness in other parts of the country.

Veterinarians are advising dog owners to be aware of their dog’s health and monitor them for any sudden changes. They also advise to avoid communal areas where dogs gather such as dog parks and pet boarding facilities if they can to lower the risk of their dogs catching the disease. But if their dog does develop a wet cough or other symptoms related to the illness that they should consult their veterinarian.