The authorities in Norway continue to puzzle over a mysterious dog disease with more than 40 dead animals. The cause is still unknown, as stated on the website of the Norwegian Food Inspectorate Mattilsynet. In a statement on Wednesday, the authorities said that since 1 August, at least 173 cases of bloody diarrhea had been reported to the animals. Meanwhile, an estimated 43 dogs with comparable disease symptoms have died.
The first cases were reported from the capital Oslo, later there were also diseases in other parts of Norway. According to the Norwegian veterinary institute, almost 90 different dog breeds are affected by the intestinal infection.
According to the institute, 12 out of 15 post-mortem dogs found the bacterium Providencia alcalifaciens, which is known to cause diarrhea. However, this is not normally life-threatening for the animals.
No evidence of problems with dog food found
Diarrhea is a common disease in dogs, which is why not every disease must necessarily be related to the mysterious outbreak. Already the change to another feed can lead to this with domestic dogs.
Earlier research had excluded some possible causes of the disease, such as salmonella, the causative agent Campylobacter or targeted poisoning by rat poison. Even examinations of dog food had remained without result. There simply is no known commonality that all affected animals are, experts say.
According to the Norsk Kennel Club in Norway there are around 560,000 dogs. The owners were advised because of the disease to keep their animals on a leash and to avoid contact with other dogs. There is no evidence that the disease can spread from the dogs to humans.