It isn’t just humans that are being hit extremely hard by deadly pestilences. In recent weeks, I have written numerous articles about the strange diseases that have been causing severe illness and death among human populations in various parts of the globe. But there are other plagues that have suddenly erupted that aren’t affecting us at all. Instead, they are devastating animal populations, and so they get less media coverage. But the truth is that some of these diseases are extremely serious. For example, tens of millions of our chickens and turkeys are already dead due to an unprecedented bird flu pandemic. That deeply impacts each one of us, because now chicken and turkey are much more expensive at the grocery store. And one or more of the diseases that I am going to talk about in this article could make the jump to humans, and if that happens we could potentially be facing a big time nightmare.
Let me start my discussion by addressing a mystery that several people have written to me about this week. A “mystery virus” that just appeared has been killing lots of dogs in Michigan…
State and federal agencies are investigating the mystery virus that has claimed the lives of at least 30 dogs in Michigan.
The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Michigan State University’s veterinary laboratory, the US Department of Agriculture and other partners are working to determine the cause of the illness that has been affecting canines in the Great Lakes State for the past two months, MDARD said Monday.
The unidentified virus causes acute gastrointestinal problems and generally kills young dogs within three to five days. Symptoms include bloody diarrhea, vomiting and lethargy.