Arthritis
Atopy (Inhalant Allergy)
Bufo Toad Poisoning
Cat Home Safety Tips
Collar Hazards
Common Things to Watch for
Dental Disease in Pets
Diabetes
Dog Safety Tips
Feline Heartworm Disease
Mallassezia (yeast) Dermatitis
Reasons to Neuter
Noise Phobia in Dogs
Weight Problems in Pets
Otitis (Ear Infections)
Parvo Virus
Pruritis (Itchiness)
Rabies
Seizures and Epilepsy
Senior Pets
Reasons to Spay
Toxoplasmosis, Cats and Women
been vomiting and having bloody diarrhea for two days. Unfortunately, by the
time I saw him, the pup was severely dehydrated and nearly comatose.
Despite our best efforts at emergency treatment, the puppy was too far gone
and died shortly after arriving at the hospital. The tragedy of this story is that
this death could have been prevented. How? By a simple series of parvo
vaccinations when the pup was between 8 to 20 weeks old.
Canine parvovirus (CPV) emerged in 1978 when an epidemic swept through
the canine population in the U.S. and other countries. Dogs had no immunity
to this new disease and many of them died within a few days of showing
symptoms.
What’s interesting is that CPV is very similar to the feline distemper virus and
researchers at veterinary colleges speculate that the dog virus is a mutated
form of the cat virus.
All dogs and wild canids are susceptible to parvovirus and several breeds
including Rottweilers, Dobermans, German Shepherds, and Pit bulls are at
increased risk and are usually more severely affected by the disease.
The virus is spread in the feces of infected dogs. It is very hearty and can live in
the environment for long periods of time, being resistant to the effects of heat,
drying and many disinfectants.
Dogs become infected when they come into contact with and ingest virus
particles from contaminated ground, objects, toys or insects. Owners may
inadvertently bring the virus home on their shoes or clothing and infect their
pet. Since the virus is so hearty and remains in the environment for so long
there does not have to be direct contact between dogs for the disease to spread.
Once a susceptible (non-immune) dog is infected with the virus it will start to
show signs of the illness after 7-10 days. Once inside of the body, the virus
seeks out the rapidly dividing cells of the body including cells in the small
intestine and bone marrow. There, billions of copies of the virus are produced
and shed in the dog’s feces, even before it is showing any signs of illness.
As the virus reproduces itself in the intestinal cells it destroys the inner lining
of the small intestine, which results in severe vomiting, bloody diarrhea and
rapid dehydration. Other signs include extreme weakness or lethargy, and
decreased or no appetite. Some dogs may also have an elevated temperature.
There is no specific medicine or antidote for parvovirus and treatment is aimed
at supportive care to keep the animal alive until the body fights off the
infection.
Critically ill animals must be hospitalized in an isolation unit and treated with
IV fluids. Other medicines include antibiotics to prevent or treat secondary
bacterial infections, anti-emetics to control vomiting, and opiate analgesics to
control severe abdominal pain.
Most dogs can recover if they are treated aggressively with fluids and other
medicines before severe dehydration occurs. The prognosis for "at risk" breeds
and those animals that are showing severe signs when they are brought to the
hospital is much more guarded and many die despite treatment.
The only good thing about parvo is that it is easily preventable through
vaccination. Puppies should be vaccinated starting around 8 weeks of age and
be boostered every 2-3 weeks until they are 16 weeks old. At-risk breeds
should receive their final booster around 20 weeks of age.
Unfortunately, some pet owners try to cut costs and skip vaccines for their new
puppy. Then they are faced with a large bill, often times in the hundreds of
dollars when their pet has to be hospitalized with parvovirus enteritis. It is
much easier and less expensive to prevent parvo by vaccination than to treat it.
Owners should also be aware of misinformation about parvo and other
vaccines. Over the years, clients have told me that their breeder or a feed/pet
store employee or a friend or relative told them NOT to vaccinate their pup
until it was over 6 months old. This is very dangerous information and pet
owners should rely only on their veterinarian for health care advice for their
pet.