UK

Mystery dog illness could be caused by a coronavirus, experts claim

THEY HAVE NO CLUE

Dogs across the UK have been suffering from a mystery illness. / PA

By John Dunne@jhdunne

A mystery dog illness which triggered a warning for pet owners to stop walking their pets on beaches may have been caused by a coronavirus, experts have found.

Hundreds of dogs fell ill following walks on UK beaches with Yorkshire being the worst hit area.

At least one dog has died of the mystery illness that has been plaguing the pets.

Now researchers from the University of Liverpool have suggested the outbreak of acute gastrointestinal (GI) disease could have been caused by a type of coronavirus, despite the name it is not linked to Covid-19.

They believe the illness could be associated with a coronavirus variant known as a canine enteric coronavirus (CECoV) but the variant is not linked to the Cov-Sars-2 which causes Covid-19.

The University of Liverpool’s Small Animal Veterinary Surveillance Network (SAVSNET) drew their conclusion an “outbreak” could have happened in January after studying the illnesses in dogs.

The report said: “Analysis of real-time data collected by SAVSNET from veterinary practices suggests that in Yorkshire, levels of disease have been statistically higher than we would expect for three weeks – we can therefore call this an outbreak in Yorkshire.”

Professor Alan Radford, academic lead for SAVSNET, said: “Analysis of real-time data collected by SAVSNET from veterinary practices suggests that in Yorkshire, levels of disease have been statistically higher than we would expect for three weeks – we can therefore call this an outbreak in Yorkshire.

“In other regions, the increases we have seen so far look more like normal seasonal variation. However, such signals can change quickly, and we will continue to monitor the situation.”

A Great Dane died from a suspected lung infection after a day trip to Hayling Island beach near Portsmouth, Hampshire.

Initially vets had believed polluted sea water could have been behind the severe vomiting and diarrhoea illness being reported in dogs.