The canine influenza virus, first identified in 2004, had been circulating in the greyhound population for at least five years prior to its discovery and may have been responsible for numerous outbreaks of respiratory disease among dogs at racing tracks during that period, according to research presented today (March 18) at the 2008 International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases in Atlanta, Georgia.

Common human viruses are responsible for outbreaks of respiratory disease that have led to the decline of endangered chimpanzees in the wild, according to a study reported online on January 24th in Current Biology, a publication of Cell Press.

The same genetic defect that causes a rare respiratory disease may also lead to some types of congenital heart disease, according to a study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine.