Researchers identified the disease as a canine parvovirus, CPV-2, perhaps a mutation of feline panleukopenia or a parvovirus that affects wildlife. CPV-2 also infects coyotes and other canids.
Canine parvovirus survives in the environment for five months or more and clings to shoes, floors, beds, and other surfaces where it can infect the next unprotected puppy to enter the house. It is resistant to most household cleansers but can be killed by bleach.
Parvovirus can decimate a litter, a kennel, a shelter, a pet store once it gets hold. Kennels that experience the disease often close their doors until they bleach every surface, towel, and dog bed.
Parvovirus symptoms and treatment
Parvovirus incubates for seven to 14 days. Initial signs of illness are lethargy, loss of appetite, and vomiting, followed within 24 hours by high fever (up to 106 degrees) and profuse, often bloody diarrhea. The dog’s abdomen is tucked up and he appears to be in extreme pain. Some puppies show only the first stage of depression and abdominal pain, then go into shock and die.
Parvovirus can also attack the rapidly-growing myocardial (muscle) cells of the heart in puppies born to a bitch who is not vaccinated against the disease. Those puppies that survive this form of the disease often have heart problems and die young.
There are several available tests to determine if parvovirus is the disease-causing agent, but treatment with fluids and antibiotics should commence while waiting for the test results. Puppies with bloody diarrhea are in danger from loss of fluids and electrolytes; they must be rehydrated and given antibiotics to prevent secondary infections such as pneumonia and septicemia.
Food and water should be withheld until the puppy’s system begins to overcome the disease. Small amounts of a bland diet of cottage cheese and rice or a prescription diet can be offered once the diarrhea and vomiting have subsided.
Parvovirus Prevention
As with distemper, parvovirus is best prevented by vaccination. However, because there can be a gap between the gradual decline in residual immunity from mother’s milk and the pup’s ability to respond to the vaccination, some vaccinated puppies may still get the disease. Therefore, cleanliness of the kennel facilities is imperative, especially in kennels with lots of litters and shelters or pet stores that constantly receive new dogs. Kennel runs and puppy cages should be cleaned of organic matter and then bleached before new animals are brought in. Adjacent runs should be bleached if they are contaminated by flowing water during the hosing.
Although it is not as serious in adults as in puppies, parvovirus can attack adult dogs. Therefore booster vaccinations are also recommended, although they may not be necessary every year for pet dogs not exposed to unvaccinated animals or their feces.
