By: Laura Noaker DVM, DACVIM
If you know kennel cough, the answer is yes. Veterinary medicine made a move away from the term “kennel cough” to CIRDC (Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease Complex) to reflect what we actually see: a complex mix of viruses and bacteria that can all cause the familiar coughing and additional respiratory symptoms.
Kennel cough (often associated with Bordetella, a contagious bacterium spread through airborne droplets and shared surfaces) has long been recognized as a very specific, easily recognized illness known for that dry, honking cough dogs sometimes develop after boarding, daycare, puppy training, or dog-park visits. To help prevent kennel cough, vaccines were developed for both Bordetella and parainfluenza virus, since they were the known main causes.
Over time, however, it became clear that kennel cough wasn’t that simple. Researchers began identifying multiple bacterial and viral pathogens responsible for respiratory illness in coughing dogs, and the broader term -CIRDC- was born.
Why Dogs Still Get Sick Despite Vaccination
Vaccines remain an important part of prevention, but they can’t block every pathogen in the complex. Vaccines can protect against bacterial causes like Bordetella bronchiseptica and viral causes like parainfluenza or canine influenza however, there are many causes of CIRDC that vaccines cannot protect against. And just like in humans, sometimes a vaccine simply acts to restrict the severity of an illness.
How Does Doxycycline Help?
Doxycycline is the drug of choice for CIRDC bacterial infections, and viral infections that become bacterial in nature (and is often used prophylactically to prevent the secondary bacterial infection.) While doxycycline can’t fight viruses, it helps prevent or control secondary bacterial infections.
Doxycycline’s effectiveness against key bacterial pathogens often involved in CIRDC, its ability to penetrate respiratory tissues, and its anti-inflammatory properties make it a great choice when CIRDC symptoms are present, and can also help prevent minor cases from developing into a much more serious pneumonia.
Doxycycline is tetracycline antibiotic that inhibits protein synthesis by binding to the bacterial ribosome and stopping it from producing the proteins it needs to survive and multiply. It also allows the immune system to work: Once bacteria can no longer grow, the body’s immune system can more effectively fight and clear the infection.
•Veterinary guidance is key: A veterinarian will determine if doxycycline is appropriate based on the dog’s symptoms and the risk of secondary bacterial infection.
Words of Wisdom
If your dog begins coughing shortly after interacting with other dogs, schedule a visit with your regular veterinarian. Thankfully, with immediate care, most dogs make a full recovery. If your dog unknowingly exposed others, and you have a method of contacting their humans, please do so. Early intervention truly can prevent serious illness and may even save a life.
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