Understanding how influenza adapted from horses to dogs
A new study examined the development of influenzas in canines. Canine influenza H3N8 and H3N2 were discovered in dogs in the early 2000’s, before that time, there is no record of any other influenzas circulating in canines. Evidence suggests that H3N8 CIV emerged from H3N8 equine influenza virus (EIV). This host- shift of the virus from equine to canine hosts is unique because it was from one mammalian host to another.
Researchers found that the emergence of the disease in dogs occurred in approximately 2002 and the transmission was by a reassortant virus of the circulating Florida-1 clade H3N8 equine Influenza virus. Once in the canine species, H3N8 canine influenza spread and remained an enzootic virus. Canine influenza virus then evolved and diverged into multiple sublineages, with intra and inter-lineage reassortment. Scientists suggests that dogs are potentially“mixing vessels” for the establishment of novel influenza viruses.
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