TAMPA, Fla-- A Citrus County animal shelter near Tampa is closed after a dog tested positive for an extremely contagious strep-like virus.
Last week staff noticed a very sick dog that was acting very lethargic. It turns out the dog was sick with a rare virus called strep zoo. The shelter decided to temporarily shut down to reduce the risk of spreading the disease. The disease is so contagious, our Tampa station, WFTS, was not even allowed inside to film.
Symptoms of strep zoo include: fever, sneezing, rapid breathing, bloody discharge from the nose or mouth, tiredness and reluctance to eat. Animal disease specialists said the sickness is very uncommon, but very deadly for exposed animals.
The shelter is expected to reopen in 2 weeks.
