STRAY DOG PROBLEM IN DALLAS, TEXAS (Canines proven to be asymptomatic carriers of Ebola)

proof of dogs being asymptomatic carriers of Ebola virus

I've seen quite a few people here pose the question "what if stray dogs had eaten the infected vomit left in the streets for 48 hours" while an extreme hypothetical, I can't say it is highly unlikely. I don't personally know the area. What I do think is something similar could become a very logical fear if the outbreak worsens though given that since 2007 there have been reportings of the overwhelming stray dog population in Dallas.

The same source reported in 2011 that the city euthanized as many as 14,732 dogs.

Where are the bodies disposed? If the virus begins to spread in Dallas as expected, it is more than likely going to transmit to these animals. Spain just got a court order against the will of the family of the infected nurse to kill the same family's dog. Will the 15,000+ dogs a year in Dallas ALONE be dealt with according to the CDC's infected disposal protocols?

My neighborhood in Oak Cliff is overrun with puppies. It’s the most adorable infestation ever. You see them running in the streets, ducking under porches, playing with school kids waiting for the bus. You never know when you’ll come home to find a pack of soft, fuzzy puppies hanging out by your front door, wagging their little puppy tails, looking up at you with their little puppy eyes.

The city hall reported that there was not nearly enough measures for containment in early 2014.


Scariest, in my opinion, is this notion of a grass roots dog catching movement spreading across the community. Same article lists that in 2013 more than 27,000 animals were brought in by the Dallas Animal Services.

Thank you jadedandcynical for the original posting of the carrier study.

This hits really close to home as my teenage daughter lives in Dallas and, like me, is an animal lover. She is always interacting with strays. She has learned not to bring dogs home, as her mother will not allow her to have any additional doggies. But she still pets them when she sees them.

Time to have a text message fight with my baby girl.

Time for the public service announcement: Don't eat bush meat if you live or visit Dallas.

The fact that animals are carriers makes it likely this will be almost impossible to contain in Africa, and adds a level of danger if the outbreak is not totally controlled from day one in the US.

Some of my family members were staying in Uganda for several years. They said everyone there eats bush meat. They just go into the bush and clunk something over the head (anything at all, including monkeys, etc.), and bring it home for dinner. It is a staple of their survival.

They can close borders to humans, but I don't see how they can ever control the animal population. Animals might travel between countries, and pass the virus amongst themselves indefinitely.

Our only hope is a true, good, safe, effective vaccine. But with the virus mutating so quickly, I fear that might be hard to do.

a reply to: Hefficide

I worry these sort of precautions will be vastly overlooked by the general public.

The worst thing I have ever seen, was when someone barfed over a ATM machine (the screen was intense monochrome green when displaying pizza adverts), and a couple of seagulls were fighting over the chunky bits.

What about cats, rats and mice? Raccoons?

Is there a possibility insects encountered that vomit and transferred it somewhere else? Maybe a mosquito or a fly?

They should have disinfected it. The only explanations that fit are incompetence and/or nefarious reasons.

If the dog's fecal matter is contaminated that could lead to huge amounts of infected material just laying in the street, your dog could walk up to a pile from a stray and bring the infection into your home.

I've read it's believed that's one of the transmissions that occurs in the wilds of Africa, the bat's excrement gets on food that the primates eat and voila.

There's also a large amount of bats in California, they migrate from Mexico through Texas and other southwestern states. It's not rare to see them here, they can be quite large too. Could potentially contaminate so much agriculture here.

a reply to: JG1993

And Spain just announced they're going to kill the dog of the nurse who was recently infected.

news.yahoo.com...

The husband says he left the dog several buckets of water and food before coming to the hospital, where he has been quarantined along with two others who are being observed for symptoms. Twenty-two other people who came into contact with the nurse are being closely monitored, Spanish health officials said Tuesday.

According to the Associated Press, "Madrid's regional government obtained a court order to euthanize and incinerate their pet," saying "available scientific knowledge suggests a risk that the mixed-breed dog could transmit the virus to humans." It's unclear whether they carried out the order.

Great just what we need, possible mandatory dog euthanizations in the Western World because the various governments didn't want to close inbound flights and ban non-essential travel to and from these countries infected with Ebola.

Insure your dog with an "Animal Mortality" policy, sooner rather than later, let subrogation handle the rest:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Do you think police and airport security dogs are going to be subject to mass euthanization? They should considering they are on the front line, but we know that won't happen.

In fact, now that I think about it, if someones dog was wrongly euthanized as an alleged "Ebola carrier", what would the solution be for the weeks or months of doo-doo collected by the local municipalities and touched by staff? Who would need to be quarantined then? Also what if police or airport security dogs came into contact with the "alleged" Ebola dog doo-doo? Would they be immediately euthanized as well or simply put into quarantine?

a reply to: JG1993

I'll get concerned about the stray animals in Dallas streets when the disease gets go bad that the human victim are hauled out to the streets and dumped for the dogs to eat upon.

I call this thread fear mongering. ("Mongreling" in this instance?)

originally posted by: stormcell
The worst thing I have ever seen, was when someone barfed over a ATM machine (the screen was intense monochrome green when displaying pizza adverts), and a couple of seagulls were fighting over the chunky bits.

Thanks for that image. I am going to go bleach my mind's eye now.

originally posted by: JG1993
a reply to: Hefficide

I worry these sort of precautions will be vastly overlooked by the general public.

Or vastly over used.

a reply to: Catharsis6767

A good point. Mass dog killing isn't the answer and would be horrific but if they're already euthanizing a lot of the strays if any of them happen to have the virus (anywhere for that matter) inproper disposal could result in serious problems.

And again, infected dog feces in public is a terrible thought.

a reply to: JG1993
I think you totally missed my point.

Here is a link to the actual research.

Nowhere do they 'prove' or even state that canines can infect humans, they assume that it's possible:

wwwnc.cdc.gov...

What is actually said is from the 'Discusion Section' of the report:

Although dogs can be asymptomatically infected, they may excrete infectious viral particles in urine, feces, and saliva for a short period before virus clearance, as observed experimentally in other animals.

Given the frequency of contact between humans and domestic dogs, canine Ebola infection must be considered as a potential risk factor for human infection and virus spread. Human infection could occur through licking, biting, or grooming.

They go on to suggest that infection by dogs may explain some un-explained (meaning how people were initially infected) outbreaks but have no way of proving it one way or the other.

All this finding is really about is that certain dogs (even a couple in the European 'control group') tested prositive for Ebola antibodies meaning they had been exposed to the virus.

The authors advise further research and study.

Jumping to the conclusion that dogs can infect you, while important to keep in mind, is not a verifiable fact and presenting it as a fact and not the speculation that it is, is misleading at best and ignorate over-exageration at worse.

FEAR will not protect you - Education and understanding will.

originally posted by: JG1993
If the dog's fecal matter is contaminated that could lead to huge amounts of infected material just laying in the street, your dog could walk up to a pile from a stray and bring the infection into your home.

I've read it's believed that's one of the transmissions that occurs in the wilds of Africa, the bat's excrement gets on food that the primates eat and voila.

There's also a large amount of bats in California, they migrate from Mexico through Texas and other southwestern states. It's not rare to see them here, they can be quite large too. Could potentially contaminate so much agriculture here.

You've heard - you've heard. What can you reference and support??

Bats and any mammal have to have access to a 'reservior' of the disease to become infected. The is one of the great mysteries of Ebola is that original reservior of the virus that infects bats in the first place.

Please don't demonise Bats, they are an important source of pollination and pest control the world over. They do carry disease and should not be handled (alive or dead) by untrained people. Their benefit to the biosphere far out weighs their potential danger. Teach your children (as I was taught and taught mine) to never handle bats or for that matter any wild animal.

originally posted by: stormcell
The worst thing I have ever seen, was when someone barfed over a ATM machine (the screen was intense monochrome green when displaying pizza adverts), and a couple of seagulls were fighting over the chunky bits.

Well if we are going there, I remember when we were much much younger one of my buds puked on the front porch with his body inside and head sort of halfway out the door passed out, he was okish..we left him there..lol Anyway he yaked up a bunch of pizza and in the early morn he was still there with his head surrounded by cats..lol, they ate everything except the mushrooms.

Now to stay on topic, based on my observations there is a good chance some animal may have ingested some..I don't know enough to say that it should be something to get overly worried about. We probably do not need people out there shooting strays due to Ebola fears. I don't know though..who do you believe?

Here's another angle which few are talking about...

Police and military dogs at international airports are on the front lines, in regard to exposure to Ebola. Its highly probable that security dogs screening check bags and people have been exposed to the disease at this point and time. How many of those dogs do you think would be considered for euthanization? The answer is zero, but hey civilian dogs are fair game right?