Symptoms, Diagnosis & How to Prevent It – Petsworld
Canine Parvo (CPV), or more commonly known as Parvo, is perhaps the most serious virus any dog or puppy can get infected upon. Fortunately, one can prevent this in canines by giving them timely vaccination, yet it is prevalent in many unvaccinated dogs all around the world.
In this blog, you will see what exactly Canine Parvo is, how to protect your puppies, the symptoms to look out for, and also the method of its treatment. So let us get started,
What Exactly is Canine Parvo Disease?
Canine Parvovirus is an infectious DNA virus that commonly causes severe illness in puppies and unvaccinated dogs. It generally affects the body’s rapidly dividing cells, which means the intestinal tract and bone marrow are the most affected.
Canine Parvo Disease can also damage the heart muscles of young puppies.
Do Adult Dogs Get Parvo?
Although parvovirus is most commonly seen in puppies, it can also affect adult or senior dogs, especially when they are unvaccinated.
What are the Symptoms of Parvo in Dogs and Puppies?
A dog infected with parvovirus usually starts to show their symptoms within three to seven days. Early signs of parvovirus include lethargy, lack of appetite, fever, etc. As the virus progresses, your dogs may experience abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea etc. Puppies with parvovirus may also collapse, have a higher heart rate, experience difficulty in breathing, hypothermia etc.
How Do Dogs and Puppies Get Parvovirus?
Parvo in dogs and puppies is spread by contact with contaminated faeces. Parvovirus can live on surfaces that have been contaminated, including the ground, kennels, people’s hands, objects, clothing etc. Dogs can also carry a virus from contaminated material that they have encountered. One must know that Parvovirus in dogs is a highly contagious disease that spreads quickly and efficiently.
Parvovirus can survive in a dog’s surroundings for months if not years, and it’s resistant to many disinfectants.
However, it is vulnerable to dilute bleach and some specialised cleaners commonly used in veterinary hospitals.
Can Humans Get Parvovirus?
Parvovirus is a species-specific virus and hence, humans have their own version of the virus. This means that humans can’t get parvovirus from dogs, and dogs can’t get this virus from people.
However, it is still vital to maintain great caution by wearing personal protective equipment if you see a parvo puppy. While you may not catch Parvo, the virus could be spread to another dog via your hands or clothes.
How is Parvovirus Diagnosed in Dogs and Puppies? Are there Parvo Tests?
Fecal SNAP ELISA tests or commonly known as the parvo SNAP test are the most common way of diagnosing parvo in dogs and puppies. To do this test, one needs a faecal swab and it takes about 10 minutes.
While this test is accurate, a negative result does not necessarily rule out parvovirus in a symptomatic dog, as they may not be shedding the viral antigen at the time of testing.
In these cases, further tests may be needed.
What are the Stages of Parvo in Dogs and Puppies?
There are mainly three stages of Parvo in dogs and puppies: infection, incubation, and illness.
-
Infection
The puppy (or adult dog) is exposed to parvovirus via faecal material from an infected dog. It is also essential to note that a dog can be infected by the environment or an object that came in contact with an infected dog, even when the presence of faeces is undetected.
-
Incubation
There is an incubation period(usually 3 to 7 days) in which the dog is infected with parvovirus but not yet showing symptoms.
During this time, the virus specifically targets the most rapidly dividing cells in the body. Generally, it starts attacking the tonsils or lymph nodes in the body. Once parvovirus has multiplied and entered the bloodstream, the virus will find other sources of rapidly dividing cells. Two of the hardest-hit affected areas are the bone marrow and cells that line the walls of small intestines.
-
Illness
When Parvovirus infects the bone marrow of a dog, it attacks the young immune cells, which leads to a drop in protective white blood cells.
This makes the body’s ability to protect itself and allow the virus to invade the GI tract more easily, where the most amount of damage occurs. The virus attacks the lining of the small intestine, which blocks the dog’s GI tract from absorbing nutrients and prevents fluid loss in the stool.
This leads to serious health issues.
How to Prevent Parvo in Dogs and Puppies?
Parvo in dogs is a completely preventable disease.
Starting around six weeks of age, your dogs should be vaccinated and then bolstered every three weeks until around the age of 16 weeks. As an adult, the parvovaccine should be administered again at one year and then every three years thereafter. Regular vaccination provides your puppies with strong immunity to stay healthy.
Additionally, there are also a few other things that you can do to prevent Parvo in your dogs. These includes
-
Wiping your dog’s paws off when coming in from outside.
-
Keep your dogs away from faeces
-
Allowing socialisation with other vaccinated dogs
-
Keep unvaccinated puppies off the ground and away from unknown dogs