Lets talk Parvovirus in dogs 👩⚕️🐾🐶 Every year leading up to summer in the Albury Wodonga region we see an increase in the number of dogs affected by Parvovirus. 🐶 Parvovirus is highly contagious and is spread directly from contact with an infected dog or it’s faeces, or indirectly from shoes, clothing etc (fomites). 🐶 Dogs that are infected will shed the virus 4-5 days prior to showing clinical signs. 🐶 Dog parks, parkland frequented by dogs is a large source of infection 🐶 The virus is incredibly stable in the environment – direct sunlight, heat, cold, even most disinfectants do not even kill this virus! In fact, once an area is contaminated the virus can remain viable for over 12 months. 👩⚕️ first signs of infection usually include inappetence, lethargy, dehydration then proceed to vomiting and diarrhoea that eventually will change to bloody diarrhoea 👩⚕️ Prevention – vaccination offers the best protection against Parvovirus. It doesn’t prevent your pet from coming in contact or getting infected BUT the clinical signs are either mild or none at all
So the take home message is vaccinate your pets, and keep them up to date with the vaccination.
We saw little “Meme” this week who tested positive for parvovirus. She had previously been vaccinated but was a little bit overdue – luckily thanks to her loving fur-mum a couple of days in hospital and we were able to get her through the worst of it and back home to her family, who were very worried about her.
Treatment can be a few days in hospital to over a week, it just depends what immunity and how early treatment is started. Some patients even need a plasma transfusion.