Since late November, there has been a spike in an unknown respiratory disease that affects dogs that has been recorded in more than 15 states.

This illness was originally documented in mid-August, and cases have been growing more rampant with the colder months. It is presumed with evidence that people and other animals are not affected. Although symptoms may closely compare to kennel cough, dogs do not benefit from normal medical treatment. Some believe the illness is a product of multiple pathogens interacting at the same time.

But, with frequent studies, more research is beginning to reveal there may just be one bacterial infection as the cause for the fast spread. Researchers at the University of New Hampshire and Hubbard Center for Genome Studies have identified a new “funky bacterium” while studying DNA samples of infected dogs from New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.

Dr. David Needle, one of the researchers at the New Hampshire Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (NHVDL), describes the pathogen, “It is smaller than a normal bacterium in its size and in the size of its genome… Long story short, it is a weird bacterium that can be tough to find and sequence.”

Symptoms of this infection include coughing or wheezing that does not heal within a week, frequent sneezing, trouble breathing, red eyes, nasal and eye discharge, lethargy, potential pneumonia, and more. Although so far antibiotics have been found to be ineffective, dogs should still be taken to a local vet like with any other ailment.

While there has been more worry about this illness because the cause is unknown at this time, some researchers want to explain the normal severity in cases.

“We have to be aware and be diligent, but we cannot necessarily sound the alarm that a pandemic is coming for dogs. It is definitely not,” explains Dr. Karl Jaundry, a clinical professor at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.

If this new pathogen is the reasoning for the illness infecting dogs, it would not come as a surprise for some canines contracting pneumonia.

Jaundrey points out, “Smaller pathogens have an easier time making it down into the deep parts of the lungs, potentially causing pneumonia.”

With new samples being researched and others on the way, researchers hope to receive closure soon on the infection that is harming canines in the United States.