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Highly-contagious disease that affects dogs found in Brighton

There is no treatment for dogs who catch Canine Distemper, but there is a vaccine for the disease.

BRIGHTON, Colo. — The Brighton police department is urging dog owners to make sure their pets are vaccinated after they found a raccoon with a highly-contagious and untreatable disease in the area. 

According to a Facebook post from the department, a raccoon in Brighton was recently diagnosed with Canine Distemper, a viral disease that affects dogs, coyotes, foxes, skunks, raccoons and other carnivores. 

The virus attacks the respiratory, gastrointestinal and nervous systems of the affected animal, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). It is generally either spread through the air or shared food and water bowls. 

There is no treatment for dogs who catch Canine Distemper, the post says.

Fortunately, Brighton police say veteranarians in the city have not seen an increase in pets who have contracted the disease at this time.

There is a vaccine for the disease, but it is not required (like a rabies vaccine), according to Brighton police. That is why they are warning pet owners to get the shot now that it has been detected. 

Brighton police say that in addition to the raccoon that tested positive for Canine Distemper, there have been ten other possible infected raccoons reported to officers in the last 30 days. All of these cases have been given a presumptive diagnosis of the disease, the Facebook post says.

According to Brighton police, he most obvious sign in a raccoon with the disease is if it is active during the daylight hours. They ask anyone who sees a raccoon during daylight hours report it to police at 303-288-1535.

Canine Distemper cannot be passed on to people and presents no danger to humans.

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