Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease Complex - Coughing Up Trouble
What is CIRDC?
CIRDC stands for Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease Complex. To break it down, its an encompassing term for lung illness in dogs that can include viruses, bacteria, or a combination of both. The truth is, most dogs become infected with one pathogen (a disease causing agent, such as a virus or bacteria) which causes damage to the respiratory tract and makes it easier for a second infection to come into play. These pathogens are usually airborne, meaning they're spread through droplets in the breath between dogs in close contact. When we think about how much dogs pant and bark, it's easy to understand why this disease complex can spread so quickly between them.
A more commonly used phrase is "kennel cough" but we're trying to move away from that terminology due to the fact that it is most notably related to Bordetella bronchiseptica, which is only one bacteria that causes respiratory disease in dogs. While Bordetella is included in the list of pathogens known to make up CIRDC, there are 9 total pathogens that we blame for causing disease. These include 6 viruses (canine parainfluenza virus, canine adenovirus type 2, canine influenza virus (subtypes H3N2 and H3N8), canine respiratory coronavirus, canine herpesvirus-1, canine distemper virus) and 3 bacteria (Bordetella bronchiseptica, Mycoplasma sp, Streptococcus equis subspecies zooepidemicus).
What are the clinical signs of CIRDC and can it be treated?
Who gets CIRDC?
How can we prevent CIRDC?
Why do we care about CIRDC?
Final Thoughts
* Woolfrey BF, Moody JA. Human infections associated with Bordetella bronchiseptica. Clin Microbiol Rev. 1991 Jul;4(3):243-55. doi: 10.1128/CMR.4.3.243. PMID: 1889042; PMCID: PMC358197.
Comments