What an absolute shitshow of an article from Wired. I know media often leads with fear mongering and hyperbole just for clicks, but this is bordering on dangerous with how they present it as some super mystery that will infect your furry friend.
They include this part:
David Needle, senior veterinary pathologist at the University of New Hampshire, has a lead on what the culprit might be; he thinks it may have been stalking canines for some time. In 2022, Needle’s team began looking at nasal and oral swabs taken from sick dogs in New England, in cases where no known cause of disease was found and the dogs weren’t responsive to treatment. They found a small DNA sequence of a potential disease-causing microbe in 21 of the initial 30 animal samples screened.
And then never elaborate on what the suspected culprit is, just leaving everyone hanging with their own worst case scenarios for what it could be.
The very next part of the information they are sharing, that they for some reason left out was that the doctor found is that it’s very likely being caused by the mycoplasma bacteria.
Which is the same one causing pneumonia in humans right now.
My understanding is these sorts of seasonal infections aren’t uncommon, and it’s likely being exacerbated by everyone returning to social norms, so all the little bugs are getting their buffet back on for the first time in years on a vulnerable population.
Who knows, though. I am not a doctor.