Parvo is a Horrible disease. It is one of many things in Veterinary Medicine where an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Sometime in the 1970's the virus showed up. It probably mutated from the Panleukopenia virus that causes severe illness in cats. I vaguely remember that a bunch of dogs in our neighborhood died and we initially thought it was a poison, since it occurred so rapidly. There was no natural immunity out there and the Vets at that time had a mess. From what I heard, Vet clinics were full of dogs, lying all over the place. There was no vaccine available and some were giving the cat vaccine for Panleukopenia to try to protect their canine patients.
The virus destroys the lining of the small intestines which keeps the patients from absorbing nutrients and fluids and disrupts the barrier between the intestinal tract enabling bacteria to enter the bloodstream. The signs we see are vomiting and diarrhea (often with blood). Since the dog can't hold anything down and is losing fluids, they get dehydrated very quickly. One of the things that our clients say, is that their puppy has lost LOTS of weight very quickly. Signs will begin 1-2 weeks after exposure, but once signs begin puppies can die within 24 hours. In Indiana, I saw a mother and her entire litter come down with Parvo.
Treatment needs to be quick and aggressive. Diagnosis can be made by testing the feces for antigens, and a CBC will show an abnormally low White Blood Cell count. These tests aren't 100%, but they are fairly accurate. There isn't a medication that kills the virus, so we have to support the patient to keep them strong enough to fight off the disease. Treatment varies among hospitals, but we give lots of I.V. fluids to reestablish hydration and electrolytes. Antibiotics are given, not to treat the virus, but to treat secondary bacterial infections. Anti-vomiting medications are given as well. Some of these patients are so painful, that we will give a little Morphine to make them more comfortable. Tami-flu was tried for a while, but the results were not that impressive. All Parvo patients (as well as anything else contagious) are kept in our isolation away from our regular patients and guests. I tell clients that the average stay is 2-3 nights. Some get better sooner, some take longer and there are some that won't survive. We are saving about 90-95%. I have been doing this long enough to know not to try to out-guess Parvo. Things not only change day to day, they change hourly. Its frustrating to spend so much time with a patient late at night, when I could have prevented it.
The virus used to be in only a few areas and we would advise people to clean up the areas with Bleach. It only takes a low concentration (I tell people an ounce in a quart of water) to kill the virus, but even this won't work if the surface isn't hard. In other words, it won't work to bleach the yard. Parvo virus is very hardy, can last in the environment for years and is much harder to kill than even the Human Aids virus. Now this virus is everywhere. It can be tracked in on dogs feet, as well as ours. The virus is shed in the dogs feces while they have the disease.
Since the disease is all around the only way to prevent is to vaccinate. Puppies get immunity from the mother's first milk (colostrum). This immunity will last from 6-16 weeks, so we have to give series of vaccines often enough and long enough so that the puppy's immune system will build its own antibodies against parvo (plus Distemper, Parainfluenza, Adenovirus, etc. etc. etc.) There are only 2 or 3 manufacturers I would trust to make the vaccines that we give to puppies. We are VERY particular about our vaccines and how they are made, handled, shipped, stored, given, etc. There are so many things that can go wrong with a vaccine. Some breeders mean well giving vaccines and informing owners and farm stores will sell any cheap vaccine, but WE are the ones that have to treat the sick puppies when things go wrong.
The bright side is that this disease is not one that causes long term problems, like Distemper can. Once they have survived the disease, they get back to normal.... although it might take them a while. The disease is much more common in young dogs, but Parvo is still included in our Adult Dog Vaccines that are given every 3 years. The take home message in preventing Parvo is to keep your puppy up to date with quality vaccines. Once again...."an ounce of prevention is worth (at least) a pound of cure".
Sometime in the 1970's the virus showed up. It probably mutated from the Panleukopenia virus that causes severe illness in cats. I vaguely remember that a bunch of dogs in our neighborhood died and we initially thought it was a poison, since it occurred so rapidly. There was no natural immunity out there and the Vets at that time had a mess. From what I heard, Vet clinics were full of dogs, lying all over the place. There was no vaccine available and some were giving the cat vaccine for Panleukopenia to try to protect their canine patients.
The virus destroys the lining of the small intestines which keeps the patients from absorbing nutrients and fluids and disrupts the barrier between the intestinal tract enabling bacteria to enter the bloodstream. The signs we see are vomiting and diarrhea (often with blood). Since the dog can't hold anything down and is losing fluids, they get dehydrated very quickly. One of the things that our clients say, is that their puppy has lost LOTS of weight very quickly. Signs will begin 1-2 weeks after exposure, but once signs begin puppies can die within 24 hours. In Indiana, I saw a mother and her entire litter come down with Parvo.
Treatment needs to be quick and aggressive. Diagnosis can be made by testing the feces for antigens, and a CBC will show an abnormally low White Blood Cell count. These tests aren't 100%, but they are fairly accurate. There isn't a medication that kills the virus, so we have to support the patient to keep them strong enough to fight off the disease. Treatment varies among hospitals, but we give lots of I.V. fluids to reestablish hydration and electrolytes. Antibiotics are given, not to treat the virus, but to treat secondary bacterial infections. Anti-vomiting medications are given as well. Some of these patients are so painful, that we will give a little Morphine to make them more comfortable. Tami-flu was tried for a while, but the results were not that impressive. All Parvo patients (as well as anything else contagious) are kept in our isolation away from our regular patients and guests. I tell clients that the average stay is 2-3 nights. Some get better sooner, some take longer and there are some that won't survive. We are saving about 90-95%. I have been doing this long enough to know not to try to out-guess Parvo. Things not only change day to day, they change hourly. Its frustrating to spend so much time with a patient late at night, when I could have prevented it.
The virus used to be in only a few areas and we would advise people to clean up the areas with Bleach. It only takes a low concentration (I tell people an ounce in a quart of water) to kill the virus, but even this won't work if the surface isn't hard. In other words, it won't work to bleach the yard. Parvo virus is very hardy, can last in the environment for years and is much harder to kill than even the Human Aids virus. Now this virus is everywhere. It can be tracked in on dogs feet, as well as ours. The virus is shed in the dogs feces while they have the disease.
Since the disease is all around the only way to prevent is to vaccinate. Puppies get immunity from the mother's first milk (colostrum). This immunity will last from 6-16 weeks, so we have to give series of vaccines often enough and long enough so that the puppy's immune system will build its own antibodies against parvo (plus Distemper, Parainfluenza, Adenovirus, etc. etc. etc.) There are only 2 or 3 manufacturers I would trust to make the vaccines that we give to puppies. We are VERY particular about our vaccines and how they are made, handled, shipped, stored, given, etc. There are so many things that can go wrong with a vaccine. Some breeders mean well giving vaccines and informing owners and farm stores will sell any cheap vaccine, but WE are the ones that have to treat the sick puppies when things go wrong.
The bright side is that this disease is not one that causes long term problems, like Distemper can. Once they have survived the disease, they get back to normal.... although it might take them a while. The disease is much more common in young dogs, but Parvo is still included in our Adult Dog Vaccines that are given every 3 years. The take home message in preventing Parvo is to keep your puppy up to date with quality vaccines. Once again...."an ounce of prevention is worth (at least) a pound of cure".
The test takes only a few minutes
Parvo patients feel REALLY bad.
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