More than 30 dogs have died from a mysterious illness in Michigan (Image: Getty Images)

Authorities are trying to identify a mysterious illness that has killed dozens of dogs, mostly puppies, in Michigan.

More than 30 dogs in Ossego County have died from an illness similar to parvovirus, a highly contagious viral disease common in unvaccinated puppies.

The dogs will die within days if they develop vomiting, bloody diarrhea, lethargy, loss of appetite and other unpleasant symptoms, the Ossego County Animal Shelter said in a Facebook post.

The mysterious illness exhibits parvo-like symptoms, but when dogs are tested for parvo, the tests often come back negative, the shelter said.

With so many diseases (like parvo), vets can treat it differently. Dogs die within days,” they wrote.

The disease does not affect any particular breed more than others, and there were no specific places in the country where sick dogs were housed, according to the shelter.

Shelter director Melissa Fitzgerald told MLive that most of the affected dogs were less than two years old, but the dog that died was four years old.

Fitzgerald said some of the dogs that died were parvo-positive, meaning new strains of the virus may be spreading.

The disease can also be affected by the correct vaccination of dogs. Parvo shots must be given at a specific time and kept at a specific temperature to be effective, says Fitzgerald.

On Tuesday, more than 30 dogs were found dead from the same rare disease in County Clare, about 70 miles from Ossego.

“The state is in a panic right now,” County Clare animal control director Rudy Hicks told County Clare Cleaver.

Hicks said the virus would quickly kill infected dogs and said he had no intention of taking dogs as pets at this time.

“We don’t go to dog parks or camp together,” Hicks said. “Because there is no cure. There is no vaccine because no vaccine has been found yet.”

Hicks thinks it’s a new strain of parvovirus or something else entirely.

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