Parvo, or parvovirus, is a canine viral disease that is very common, especially in the USA, even though immunization is now widespread. It is not airborne, as many believe, but resides in the droppings of other dogs! Dog parvo symptoms are very specific.
Parvo attacks the lining of a dog's stomach. Adult dogs can contract parvo but very young dogs are most at risk as the disease thrives in the dividing cells of the growing pup. Since in the early '80s the disease has mutated many times. However, dog parvo symptoms remain identical and can be spotted easily.
Dog Parvo Symptoms: Dog parvo symptoms include diarrhoea, vomiting, fever and tiredness. The dog will probably stop eating and develop a strong smelling very loose or liquid-like stool. dog parvo symptoms can also include traces of blood in the diarrhoea.
Treatment For Parvo: Even if there is no dog parvo symptoms it is recommend, by most veterinarians, that you vaccinate your puppy every 3 to 4 weeks beginning when the pup is 6 weeks of age and continuing until it is 20 weeks old. Even if you see no dog parvo symptoms it's a good idea to give the animal a 100% natural immunizer that has no side-affects. Get a treatment and immunization product that works well - dog parvo symptoms. If you suspect that you are seeing dog parvo symptoms in your pet then take the appropriate steps outlined but also get the animal to a vet for expert advice.
Preventive Steps: Parvo can easily be transported on the soles of shoes, hands and vehicle tires. It usually takes one week to 10 days before dog parvo symptoms are present. Remember that prevention is much better than cure - you don't have to wait to see dog parvo symptoms in your animal before you take action! Ensuring the dog does not come into contact with the disease is the best treatment of all! However even after exposure and treatment parvo can survive a long time outside a living host and cleansing the environment around your dog is essential. Parvo is very resilient to most disinfectants and can exist under the right conditions for months! Get a good Parvo Killing cleaner that kills parvo and other viruses.
This disease only affects canines. If you believe another animal is showing signs of dog parvo symptoms rest assured that it does not have parvo although you should get the animal to a vet.
Before checking out dog parvo symptoms, let us take a look at what parvo is, what it can do to your do, and how it is spread. Parvo virus was first identified in 1978 and within two years' it had spread all over the world. Over the years, the parvo virus has mutated into two different strains and there is evidence of a third strain present in Italy, Spain and Vietnam. Every case of canine parvo virus, or CPV, comes from the first two strains. Every different species has its own parvo virus and it cannot be spread outside of the species, so there is a human parvo virus, a canine parvo virus, a feline parvo virus, and so on.
Even though the virus cannot be spread from a cat to a dog or from a bird to a cat, they can spread the virus through contact. For instance, your cat wanders through the neighbor's yard and picks up the virus on her feet she can then bring it into your home potentially infecting any canines on the property.
The parvo virus works in one of two ways ? through the heart or the intestines. The intestinal infection is picked up by an animal through oral contact with contaminated feces. In other words, a dog has to come into contaminated feces from another dog. The intestinal dog parvo symptoms happen when the virus attacks rapidly dividing cells in the intestinal crypts, lymph nodes and bone marrow. This allows normally occurring bacteria from the intestine to enter the blood stream make the animal contagious. The virus is shed in the stool for up to three weeks making this disease very contagious to non-vaccinated pets.
The cardio form of this infection is usually seen in puppies that are infected before birth or shortly thereafter. It is noteworthy that the cardiac form of CPV is not as common since the mother passes immunity on to her pups from birth. The parvo virus will then attack the heart in the infected puppy and death will occur shortly afterwards.
Symptoms of CPV usually present within 3-10 days of contact and they include lethargy, vomiting, fever and diarrhea. The diarrhea then causes severe dehydration and secondary infections. These are the actual causes of death rather than the virus itself.
Survival rate depends on how quickly CPV is diagnosed and treatment is begun. When the case is not caught early the best treatment option is an IV through which fluids are pushed to re-hydrate the animal more quickly, in addition anti-nausea and antibiotic shots may be given intramuscular. The prognosis is good with proper care but an absolute death sentence without it. There have been a few reports that the human antiviral, Tamiflu, can be effective in treating CPV but there are no studies to substantiate this. A veterinarian will advise you to give your pet a parvo shot about eight weeks after they are weaned. With the prevalence of the virus and its ability to kill some precaution should be taken to protect your canine.
Both Michael A. Mcgrath & Geraldine Dimarco are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.