MADISON, Wis., Sept. 26 (UPI) -- A Wisconsin state veterinarian warns an outbreak of dog flu that killed dozens of canines in seven states may infect wolves and coyotes in the wild.
The canine influenza forced the Dairyland Greyhound Park in Kenosha, Wis., to close for four weeks this spring after 950 dogs were infected.
"We didn't lose one, and we're very proud of that," state Division of Gaming veterinarian Jennifer Barker told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The dog flu was first reported at a Florida greyhound track last year and has been confined primarily to dog racing tracks in Massachusetts, Arizona, West Virginia, Iowa, Texas and Wisconsin and kennels in New York and New Jersey.
There is no evidence it can sicken humans but Ronald Schultz, dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said "it's just a matter of time before the disease gets into the general dog population and then into the wild canine population."