A new strain of flu has sickened thousands of dogs in the Midwest.
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The Earliest Dogs: Photos
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A pointer named “Major” is identified as the first known example of a modern dog. A description of the dog was found in a now-obscure 1865 edition of a Victorian journal called The Field. It marks the earliest reported dog breed based on physical form and pedigree. “The invention of ‘breed,’ physically and imaginatively, still shapes how we see and think about dogs today,” Michael Worboys, Director of the University of Manchester’s Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine, told Discovery News. Worboys and his team found the information concerning “Major” while preparing a new museum exhibit on dogs.
University of Manchester
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The first domestication of dogs was thought to have taken place 31,680 years ago -- but new research suggests the skull in question likely belong to a wolf. This particular specimen was found with a still-visible mammoth bone in its mouth.
Mietje Germonpré
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The paleolithic dog remains resembled a modern Siberian husky, but suggest an animals that was significantly larger. Today, the Siberian husky, Samoyed and Alaskan malamute breeds are all closely related. "The most remarkable difference between these dogs and recent dog breeds is the size of the teeth,” paleontologist Mietje Germonpré said. Other early dog breeds, with a focus on the U.K., are featured in the museum exhibit curated by Worboys and his team. Entitled “Breed: The British and Their Dogs,” the exhibit runs at the University of Manchester museum through April 14.
Jeffrey Beall/Flickr
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Another team of researchers, led by Heidi Parker of the National Human Genome Research Institute, used DNA analysis to determine the genetic relationships of numerous dog breeds. One such ancient breed is the Afghan hound. As its name suggests, it's native to the Middle East. It’s one of the oldest dog breeds in existence, and was originally used for hunting hares and gazelles.
Bryan Ungard/Flickr
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Parker and her team found that Akitas are yet another ancient breed. These dogs originated in Asia and are genetically similar to chow chows. The breed was not included in the first dog show. “The first dog show was in 1859 when only two varieties were shown: pointers and setters,” Worboys said. It had nothing to do with the handsome Akita’s looks, as he explained that the first dog show was “for gun dogs only.”
Maja Dumat/Flickr
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The sleek-bodied saluki comes from Iran, where its distant ancestors might have once lived near the earliest farmers from the Fertile Crescent. Dogs in this region evolved the ability to eat a starch-rich diet around 12,000 years ago. “Our findings show that it was crucial to early dogs to be able to thrive on a diet rich in starch,” Uppsala University’s Erik Axelsson, who led a related study, told Discovery News. “That indicates that dog domestication may be linked to the development of agriculture. It is possible that dogs may have been domesticated independently at locations where agriculture developed early, such as the Fertile Crescent and China.”
Renee Johnson/Flickr
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One of the most ancient dog breeds native to the United States is the Alaskan malamute. The DNA study found that they are genetically similar to Siberian huskies. This large, muscular dog was used -- and still is -- for pulling sleds, hauling freight by other means, and for additional work tasks.
Randi Hausken/Flickr
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The basenji is “an ancient African breed,” according to Parker and her colleagues. While “Major” the pointer is the first documented modern breed of dog, the basenji is arguably the first dog to be heavily bred by humans. Although this dog hails from central Africa, paleontologists believe its wolf ancestors originally came from eastern Asia.
lindyi/Flickr
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In China, the chow chow is affectionately referred to as Songshi Quan, meaning “puffy-lion dog.” It is genetically close to the Akita, also from Asia. It represents yet another early breed.
Remigiusz Józefowicz/Wikimedia Commons
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Of the four most ancient known Asian dog breeds, the shar-pei was the first to diverge from a wolf ancestor, suggesting it is the oldest known Asian breed. This dog is famous for its deep wrinkles and blue-black tongue. Mutations of the same gene that causes wrinkles in these dogs can also cause wrinkling of human skin.
canis-candie/Wikimedia Commons
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A new strain of flu that likely came from Asia has sickened thousands of dogs in the Midwest, experts say.
The new dog flu virus, which has not been seen before in U.S. dogs, has infected more than 1,000 dogs and is responsible for six dog deaths in Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana, according to experts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Cornell University who have been collecting and testing samples of the virus.
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"The dog population here has never seen this strain before," said Dr. Keith Poulsen, a professor of veterinary medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. [ 10 Deadly Diseases That Hopped Across Species]
The canine sickness causes symptoms similar to those of the human flu, such as coughing, nasal discharge, fever and loss of appetite, though a small percentage of dogs can be carriers of the virus without showing symptoms, Poulsen said.
The virus is likely spread through nose-to-nose contact with other dogs, which occurs at doggy day care centers, veterinary clinics and dog parks, he added.
The virus doesn't appear to infect humans, Poulsen said. Although the possibility of a dog-human transfer of the virus can't be ruled out, "I think it's a very low risk," he said. "There have been reports of cats getting sickfrom direct contact with dogs, although there hasn't been a virus-positive cat reported yet," he said.
Poulsen recommended commonsense measures to prevent more dogs in the region from getting or spreading the virus. "If you go to dog parks, keep your dog on a leash, and avoid densely populated dog areas, especially if you have a very young dog or a very old dog whose immune system is compromised," he said. Also, "if your dog is sick, don't take him anywhere," he added.
The virus has an incubation period of about one to three days, and the infected animal can be contagious for up to 14 days, Poulsen said. The symptoms usually last about five to seven days, though the cough can persist for several weeks, he added.
The new virus is different from the previous strain of dog flu, H3N8, that's been circulating in the United States since 2004. The new strain, known as H3N2, has been found in animals in China and Korea, and an infected animal probably brought it to Chicago, Poulsen said.
There is a vaccine for the previous U.S. dog flu strain, but it's generally given only to dogs at high risk of getting infected, and experts don't know if the vaccine protects against the new strain. A few pharmaceutical companies have started working on a new vaccine, but it will probably be four to six months before it becomes available, Poulsen said.
Original article on Live Science.
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