Kennel cough basics

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Infectious Tracheobronchitis, commonly known as kennel cough, is a bronchitis illness characterized by a harsh, hacking cough. Most people say the cough sounds as though their dog has something stuck in his throat.

Kennel cough is similar to a chest cold in humans and will generally resolve itself on its own with no medications necessary. Under certain circumstances, however, it can be deadly, and requires effective treatment. Here are the basics on the condition, and how to know when to seek help.

How do dogs become infected with kennel cough?

The respiratory tract of a normal, healthy dog has substantial safeguards against invading infectious agents.
The most important safeguard is called the mucociliary escalator. The escalator is made up of tiny, hair like structures, called cilia, which protrude from the cells lining the respiratory tract.

There is a coat of mucus over the hairs and this mucous traps debris, including infectious agents, and the cilia move the mucus and the trapped debris up to the throat where it is either coughed up and/or swallowed.

The mucociliary escalator can be damaged by:

• Stress from being shipped
• Stress from overcrowding
• Exposure to heavy dust
• Exposure to cigarette smoke
• Infectious viral agents such as reovirus, adenovirus, parainfluenza, and distemper
• Prolonged exposure to cold temperatures
• Poor ventilation

Without the mucociliary escalator, invading bacteria can simply invade the dog's airways unimpeded.

A bacterium called Bordetella bronchiseptica can cause much distress in dogs because it has defenses against the mucociliary escalator:

• Within three hours of contact, it can attach to the cilia, leaving them unable to move.
• It then secretes a substance that disables the immune cells that normally consume and destroy bacteria.

Since Bordetella usually invades the dog's body with another bacteria or virus such as the ones mentioned above, kennel cough is actually the result of multiple attacks rather than by one agent.

Most dogs are infected when they are contained in a hot, crowded area that receives poor air circulation but lots of warm air, such as a boarding kennel, obedience class, an animal shelter or hospital, or a grooming parlor. Most acute coughing in dogs is due to  [Continued]

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