Researchers appear to identify source in respiratory illness that has…

As a mysterious and potentially fatal illness has sickened hundreds of dogs across the country and left veterinarians scrambling to monitor pets, researchers may have found a culprit behind the disease.

With reported cases in several states, including Illinois, the respiratory illness is largely resistant to antibiotics and has already led to some fatalities.

According to NBC News, researchers at the University of New Hampshire’s Veterinary Diagnosis Laboratory and the Hubbard Center for Genome Studies have identified a pathogen that might be what’s making pets sick. 

Researchers told NBC News that a previously unidentified germ was detected in a genetic sequencing of samples from 30 dogs from New Hampshire who were infected last year and 40 dogs from Rhode Island and Massachusetts who were infected this year.

“It’s smaller than a normal bacterium in its size and in the size of its genome. Long story short, it’s a weird bacterium that can be tough…