Secretary's Announcements

Kennel Cough Advice

COMMMITTEE ANNOUNCEMENT 
Kennel Cough Advice

Following  last weekend’s competitions there have been reported cases of kennel cough. As kennel cough is highly contagious, like last year we are looking to limit the exposure and ensuring that the rules on infectious diseases are adhered to. The incubation period for kennel cough is 7 to 10 days which means that teams may have inadvertently attended a competition prior to their dog showing any symptoms. Due to this we rely on prompt and honest reporting to ensure that any spread is minimised and urge any further cases to be reported immediately to the BFA committee via the BFA secretary.

The BFA Committee have been working in conjunction with the BFA veterinary advisor and will be implementing the plan that was first introduced last June. This was successful in containing the spread of KC following a number of confirmed cases in dogs attending flyball comps. We are taking this step to try to minimise the risk to all our members dogs.

Risk  template:

·         Infected:  those dogs with confirmed KC cannot compete or train for a minimum of 21 days from the last cough/symptom.

·         High Risk:  dogs from the same primary team - these dogs are not to race or train for 14 days, if no signs/symptoms then they can return to training/racing. Any dogs from other teams spending prolonged periods of time with infected dogs will also fall under high risk.

·         Moderate risk: dogs racing in the same division - these teams should take the following precautions to minimise the risk of infection: 1.  Wash balls (see advice below), 2. No communal water bowls (take your own bowls for your own dogs), 3.  Reduce time by ringside to a minimum and return to camp/parking area and isolate your dogs.

·         Low risk: dogs present at the following competition at Hedsor Golf Club  but not in the same division(s) as the infected dogs - to take the same precautions as above.

All teams attending tournaments in the coming weeks should be vigilant and also follow the above advice to ensure we are reducing the risk for all in attendance.

Ball washing advice
The Bordetella bacteria which can be part of KC can survive for 2 weeks in the environment, especially if the environment is damp. So used tennis balls, thrown into a sealed plastic tub or bucket at the end of a training session or days competition is a  lovely environment for the bacteria to survive. It’s killed by bleach (5% sodium hypochlorite) diluted at 1:32, or by potassium peroxymonosulfate (Virkon® or Trifectant®). The parainfluenza virus doesn’t survive long is the environment.

Kennel cough is always a risk for groups of dogs and we rely on each dog owner taking responsibility and all team captains taking the necessary precautions if they believe there is a potential risk of passing on. Any teams with infected dogs should contact the BFA Committee prior to attending a competition to ensure that all dogs have been clear for the necessary time scales.