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It's the "Dog Days of Summer," and most owners are just trying to help their dogs stay cool. However, there is a troubling trend that some veterinarians are reporting to be on the rise: the canine distemper virus.

"Canine distemper is a viral disease in a dog, and the problem with canine distemper is it's a killer virus," explains Butch Shroyer, a veterinarian at the Animal Care Clinic.

While threatening, Shroyer does say your dog can avoid contracting the potentially deadly disease.

"There are vaccines out that are very, very effective. So if you will get your puppy and get them into your veterinarian and get your vaccine series done, and keep it up to date, you should really never have to worry about distemper."

If you think you can skip it, Shroyer quickly warns that the virus isn't pretty. He says 25% of dogs that contract the virus will die regardless of treatment, and another 50% may survive the virus but have some major health problems, like seizures, after.

"About 25% of them can survive the virus and be normal again, but that means 75% of our animals that end up with distemper are going to have some sort of residual problem or death," states Shroyer.

Already cases are turning up around the state. Just last week, a massive outbreak was discovered in Perry County.

"One of the sad cases we just had, was that 200 dogs down in Perry County, at the Humane Society, there. (The dogs) had to be euthanized because they had been exposed to distemper."

The virus can be spread from other wild animals such as raccoons, and several veterinary websites say it's best to get puppies treated in the first three- to six-months.

So before you let "Fido" run free, Shroyer wants you to be sure that your dog is up to date on the vaccinations because he and other vets want to see this trend stopped.

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Potentially deadly dog virus is on the rise

KAMPALA: Uganda's president warned yesterday against physical contact after a victim of a deadly outbreak of the Ebola virus was reported in the capital Kampala for the first time. The Ministry of Health are tracing all the people who have had contact with the victims, Yoweri Museveni said in a state broadcast, adding that 14 people had died in total since Ebola broke out in western Uganda three weeks ago. Two cases have since been reported in the capital, with one victim reported dead in Kampala's Mulago Hospital, he said, calling on people not to shake hands to avoid the spread of the killer virus. Ebola spreads by contact when you contact each other physically... avoid shaking of hands, because that can cause contact through sweat, which can cause problems, Museveni said. Do not take on burying somebody who has died from symptoms that look like Ebola instead call health workers because they know how to do it...avoid promiscuity because this sickness can also go through sex, he added. Seven doctors and 13 health workers at Mulago hospital are in quarantine after at least one or two cases were taken there, with one later dying from the virus. I appeal to you to first of all report all cases which appear to be like Ebola, and these are high fever, vomiting, sometimes diarrhoea, and with bleeding, he added. When you handle this case well you can eliminate Ebola quickly. According to experts, despite being extremely virulent, the disease is containable because it kills its victims faster than it can spread to new ones. It has a fatality ratio of between 23 to 90 percent, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The latest outbreak started in Uganda's western Kibale district, around 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of the Kampala, and around 50 kilometers from the border with Democratic Republic of Congo. We have never had an outbreak in Kampala, said Miriam Nanyunja, WHO disease prevention officer in Uganda. The nearest death previously had been in May 2011 in Bombo, some 35 kilometers (21 miles) from Kampala, a city of some 1.5 million people. The rare haemorrhagic disease, named after a small river in DR Congo, killed 37 people in western Uganda in 2007 and claimed the lives of at least 170 people in the north of the country in 2000. However, Museveni said that the virus was not this time immediately identified, resulting in a delay. The bleeding which normally accompanies Ebola did not take place initially among these patients, he said, adding that health workers at first did not therefore realize what the problem was. Because of that delay the sickness spread. Ebola is characterized by the sudden onset of fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat, often followed by vomiting, diarrhoea and in some cases, both internal and external bleeding, according to the WHO. I wish you good luck, and may God rest the souls of those who died in eternal peace, Museveni added.

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Uganda’s president warns on physical contact as Ebola reaches capital

KAMPALA: Uganda's president Monday warned against physical contact after a victim of a deadly outbreak of the Ebola virus was reported in the capital Kampala for the first time.

"The Ministry of Health are tracing all the people who have had contact with the victims," Yoweri Museveni said in a state broadcast, adding that 14 people had died in total since Ebola broke out in western Uganda three weeks ago.

Two cases have since been reported in the capital, with one victim reported dead in Kampala's Mulago Hospital, he said, calling on people not to shake hands to avoid the spread of the killer virus.

"Ebola spreads by contact when you contact each other physically... avoid shaking of hands, because that can cause contact through sweat, which can cause problems," Museveni said.

"Do not take on burying somebody who has died from symptoms that look like Ebola - instead call health workers because they know how to do it...avoid promiscuity because this sickness can also go through sex," he added.

Seven doctors and 13 health workers at Mulago hospital are in quarantine after "at least one or two cases" were taken there, with one later dying from the virus.

"I appeal to you to first of all report all cases which appear to be like Ebola, and these are high fever, vomiting, sometimes diarrhoea, and with bleeding," he added.

"When you handle this case well you can eliminate Ebola quickly."

According to experts, despite being extremely virulent, the disease is containable because it kills its victims faster than it can spread to new ones.

It has a fatality ratio of between 23% - 90%, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

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Uganda warns on physical contact as Ebola reaches capital

The Ugandan president has called on peopleto limit physical contact with each other, after a victim of a deadly outbreak of the Ebola virus was reported in Kampala, the country's capital, for the first time.

"The Ministry of Health are tracing all the people who have had contact with the victims," Yoweri Museveni said in a state broadcast on Monday, adding that 14 people had died in total since Ebola broke out in western Uganda three weeks ago.

Two cases have been reported in the capital since the outbreak began, he said, and one victim is reported to have died in Kampala's Mulago Hospital.

He called on people not to shake hands, to avoid the spread of the killer virus.

"Ebola spreads by contact when you contact each other physically... avoid shaking of hands that can cause contact through sweat, which can cause problems," Museveni said.

"Do not take on burying somebody who has died from symptoms that look like Ebola. Instead, call health workers because they know how to do it...avoid promiscuity because this sickness can also [be transmitted] through sex," he added.

Seven doctors and 13 health workers at Mulago hospital are in quarantine after "at least one or two cases" were taken there, with one later dying from the virus.

Additional cases

The latest outbreak of the disease started in the country's western district of Kibaale, around 200km west of Kampala. The district is located about 50km from the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Stephen Bayaruhanga, health secretary of Kibaale, said on Monday that six more patients suspected to have contracted Ebola had been admitted to hospital.

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Uganda leader warns of Ebola 'contact' threat

By Brett Wiles

Monday, July 30, 2012

The Ebola virus has killed 14 people in western Uganda this month, health officials said, ending weeks of speculation about the cause of a strange disease that had many people fleeing their homes.

The officials and a WHO representative told a news conference in Kampala yesterday there is an outbreak of Ebola in the country.

"Laboratory investigations done at the Uganda Virus Research Institute... have confirmed that the strange disease reported in Kibaale is indeed Ebola haemorrhagic fever," the Ugandan government and WHO said in joint statement.

Kibaale is a district in mid-western Uganda, where people in recent weeks have been troubled by a mysterious illness that seemed to come from nowhere. Ugandan health officials had been stumped as well, and spent weeks conducting tests.

On Friday, Joaquim Saweka, the WHO representative in Uganda, told AP that investigators were "not so sure" it was Ebola, and a Ugandan health official dismissed the possibility of Ebola as merely a rumour. It appears firm evidence of Ebola was clinched overnight.

Health officials told reporters in Kampala that the 14 dead were among 20 reported with the disease. Two of the infected have been isolated for examination by researchers and health officials.

A clinical officer and, days later, her four-month-old baby died from the disease caused by the Ebola virus, officials said.

Officials urged Ugandans to be calm, saying a national emergency taskforce had been set up to stop the disease from spreading far and wide.

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Ebola confirmed as killer of 14