Mystery Dog Respiratory Illness - aCIRD

My two dogs have had the canine ‘mystery illness’ aCIRD for six months now. I had to put my other beloved dog Daisy down due to this illness August 15th. She and one of my other dogs have been reported by my vet to the city of Los Angeles as having aCIRD just so they can be counted in the data. Daisy’s illness started with a cough in March of 2023, then pneumonia developed in April. After a round of antibiotics the pneumonia seemed to go away but she developed a horrible eye infection that left her blind in one eye. Soon after that she developed a second round of pneumonia. Then rhinitis with horrible congestion, sneezing, and a lot of nasal discharge. In August the eye infection came back, she developed glaucoma and came down with a third round of pneumonia. That’s when the vet recommended we put her down. I wish we’d tried chloramphenicol, but no one knew anything about the mystery illness back then. So now my other two dogs have had the coughing, and one dog also has severe congestion and nasal discharge, sneezing and reverse, sneezing for over six months. The one with the worse symptoms had a negative PCR test and radiographs that came back negative for pneumonia. But the last few days both of their symptoms have gotten more severe. There is an uptick in coughing, sneezing and nasal discharge. I feel helpless. We have been to our vet here in Los Angeles numerous times. I just want to get another opinion to see if there’s anything else we can try treatment-wise. I feel so helpless to watch them with this illness after watching my first dog suffer through it only to succumb. They just don’t seem to be getting any better. They are both seniors, 11 and 13 years old.

Hello - where in the world are you?  I am in the UK and have heard little of this;  it appears to be a new / trending health concern in some parts of the USA.  That is, trendinng as in, possible data-trend, not to do with fashion or popularity.  The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, for example, seem to have put a notice on their website and would like to be informed of any cases answering its description within their boundaries.  Atypical (as in, not following a usual pattern) Canine (dog) Infectious (presumed to be carried by an infectious agent) Respiratory Disease (i.e. lung, pleural or upper airway disease) appears to be a description of a pattern of symptoms that may be coming up more frequently than usual, rather than a diagnosis with a particular infectious agent.  People are inevitably suggesting links with the corona virus, but none are known as far as I am aware. I quote: Respiratory Diseases (aCIRD) is currently defined as the canine respiratory PCR test panel on the dog being negative, PLUS the dog having one of the following clinical scenarios:  Chronic mild‐moderate tracheobronchitis with a prolonged duration (6‐8 weeks or longer) that is minimally or not responsive to antibiotics  Chronic (this means, ongoing) pneumonia that is minimally or not responsive to antibiotics  Acute (rapid onset / sudden) pneumonia that rapidly becomes severe and often leads to poor outcomes in as little as 24‐36 hours. Lifted from:  http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/vet/aCIRD.htm I suspect that your vet will have access to more information as it unfolds, including an ongoing conversation about what methods of treatment are proving successful.  Even when we cannot identify the cause of a pneumonia, there are steps that can be taken to try to support the body until the symptoms have passed (symptomatic treatment); wishing your dogs all the best from here.  Please would you let us know how this case ends?

Ps Finally, please could I offer a virtual hug? - as what you are describing sounds scary.  Usually, when vets diagnose a problem, we can offer information and a prognosis.  However, when a presentation appears to be either new or suddenly, increasingly common in an area, it may not be known how many milder cases are getting better, or even that all of the cases are being caused by the same thing.  Sometimes, the spike in cases may be to do with environmental factors; as far as I understand it at present, a changing virus does not have to be involved.  Wishing you all the best of luck at this challenging time.

Sorry, I have just scrolled back up and seen that you are in Los Angeles, so you may have seen that sheet already.