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Three cases of the H3N2 dog flu have been confirmed in Butte, a local veterinary clinic reported Thursday.

All three of the infected dogs belong to the same family, said Amherst Animal Hospital veterinarian Dr. Ed Peretti.

The virus is highly contagious between dogs but rarely fatal. There is no evidence to suggest that the virus can jump from dogs to humans, but Amherst physicians recommend avoiding direct contact with secretions from infected dogs.

Peretti said the owners noticed the dogs were sick on Sunday after they picked the pets up from a boarding facility in Helena. On Monday the family brought the dogs to the Amherst clinic, where they were treated by Peretti, who later confirmed that all three had the H3N2 virus.

Peretti said he immediately suspected H3N2 because of the dogs' stay in Helena.

Earlier this month, the Helena Independent Record reported one case of dog flu had been confirmed in the capital city. According to Tahnee Szymanski, a veterinarian with the Montana State Department of Livestock, there has been one additional confirmed case of H3N2 in Helena since the time of the article.