Canine parvovirus is a highly contagious viral disease that can produce a life-threatening illness.
The virus rapidly attacks your dog's system, severely affecting the intestinal tract, along with attacking white blood cells and other parts of the system. In young puppies it can damage the heart muscles and cause the animal a life time of heart issues.
Symptoms of Parvovirus:
Lethargy
Vomiting
Foul-smelling and/or bloody diarrhea
Loss of appetite
How is Parvovirus transmitted?
Parvovirus is highly contagious and can be transmitted by any animal, person or object that come in contact with the infected dog feces. It is a highly resistant virus and can live in the environment for months. It can live on items like food bowls, blankets, shoes, clothes, carpets, floors and in the soil.
NOTE: It is not veterinary recommended to purchase vaccination from anywhere but a veterinary clinic, many times during transport of vaccinations they are not stored at proper temperature causing the vaccine to become ineffective.
How can Parvovirus be prevented?
The easiest way to prevent Parvovirus is to keep your dog up to date on vaccination. Adults should be vaccinated yearly and puppies are recommended a 4 set series of shots with the last one being given after 16 weeks of age.
Because the virus can live in the environment for so long you should take extra care to make sure that your dog is up to date on the parvovirus vaccination before taking them to an unfamiliar area.
Treating Parvovirus:
Parvovirus can be very expensive to treat because there aren't any drugs that actually kill the parvovirus. Treatment is usually very aggressive and straight forward. the patient is usually hospitalized and treated with antibiotics, drugs to control vomiting and diarrhea, IV fluids and vitamins.
In some severe cases the dog may need to be given a blood transfusion, blood serum or antibodies.
For more information: http://m.petmd/dog/conditons/infectious-parasitic/c dg canine parvovirus infection.
By: Tracy Frost, LVT
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