Authorities in multiple US states are looking into a mysterious dog respiratory infection, and they are advising pet owners to take measures

Several states' veterinary laboratories are looking into an odd respiratory disease that affects dogs and causes symptoms including coughing, sneezing, and discharge from the nose or eyes.

While veterinarians work to determine what is causing the animals' unique respiratory sickness, veterinary laboratories in multiple states are looking into it and advising the public to take some simple preventative measures to keep their pets healthy. Among the places where cases have been reported are Oregon, Colorado, and New Hampshire. The sickness is resistant to medications and has resulted in pneumonia and chronic respiratory disease. Lethargy, nose or ocular discharge, coughing, and sneezing are signs of respiratory infection in dogs. Pneumonia can strike dogs suddenly in certain situations, rendering them extremely ill in as little as 24 to 36 hours. (Also read: Delhi pollution: Safeguarding your pets as the pollution level drops.)

Since mid-August, the Oregon Department of Agriculture has recorded over 200 occurrences of the illness. It has instructed state veterinarians to report cases as soon as possible and urged pet owners to get in touch with their veterinarian if their dog becomes ill. To determine the cause of the illnesses, the agency is collaborating with state researchers and the National Veterinary Services Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

According to Kurt Williams, director of Oregon State University's Oregon Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, dogs have passed away. But he said it's difficult to estimate how many people died from a severe form of the virus because there isn't a reliable technique to identify the illness or test for it.

Williams' advice to dog owners was straightforward: "Don't panic." Additionally, he advised dog owners to make sure their pets had received all necessary vaccinations, particularly those that guard against a variety of respiratory ailments. As authorities search for the culprit, laboratories around the nation have been exchanging their results.

For nearly a year, the New Hampshire Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at the University of New Hampshire has been home to senior veterinary pathologist David Needle's investigations into the enigmatic disease. His group and colleagues at the university's Hubbard Center for Genome Research have studied dog samples from Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts; more samples from Oregon, Colorado, and possibly other states will be arriving soon.

Despite the fact that his team has not noticed a significant rise in dog deaths due to the sickness, he advised pet owners to "decrease contact with other dogs."