I am an avid duck hunter and sportsman. I spend a lot of time with my dog hunting migratory birds in Minnesota.

With the threat of CWD and now the threat of West Nile disease I have concerns, not for myself in how to properly handle the birds, but for my dog. If my dog is retrieving ducks and pheasant is there a possibility of my Golden Retriever contracting West Nile Virus from the blood of the bird? We all know that dogs while retrieving a bird will get blood from the bird on them from picking them up? Is this a major concern? Any reply to this or precautions to take would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely, Craig Lewandowski

Craig,

With many northern states getting their waterfowl hunting seasons underway, you certainly have brought up a timely question. I myself have a yellow lab that heads with me to the marsh each fall and I share in your concern.

I ran your question by a veterinarian friend of mine who deals with West Nile concerns every day. A boiled down answer to your question is very simply that dogs are not susceptible to the West Nile virus. In all of recorded history, only two cases of dogs contracting and dieing from the virus have been documented worldwide. The first reported case was in Africa in 1978. The second case occurred this year in Illinois. The dog in Illinois had a whole suite of other problems, thereby making it unusually susceptible to West Nile. While West Nile is new to North America, it is important to remember that it is not new on a global scale. My veterinarian friend put it very well by saying, “Dogs are just as likely to contract the West Nile virus as humans are to contract canine distemper.”

Although ducks are possible carriers of the virus, they are not considered primary carriers. Birds in the family Corvidae (crows, ravens, jays, magpies) are the primary carriers and are most significantly impacted by the virus. To learn more about the West Nile virus, how it is transmitted, and some simple precautions for hunters to follow, visit the following West Nile fact sheet put out by The Ohio State University (http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/1006.html). A simple web search will reveal many other websites dedicated to ‘spreading’ information on the virus as well.

To you and your dog, have a safe and fun waterfowl hunting season.

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