00:00Parvovirus is a, or the canine strain is a particularly nasty virus that we see in dogs.
00:08It's most prevalent in unvaccinated dog populations, specifically our young or juvenile puppies
00:15because they just don't have an immune system there.
00:18It is a nasty virus.
00:20Often once they contract it, it causes some really, really severe gastrointestinal disease.
00:25We often see acute lethargy.
00:28They get really depressed, they're inappetent, they often develop vomiting and diarrhoea
00:34really, really quickly, and without prompt veterinary treatment, they actually can die
00:38from this.
00:39Oh dear.
00:40And how's it spread?
00:43It's spread via what we call the faecal-oral route.
00:47So often dogs that are shedding the virus, and these dogs may be aclinical, so you may
00:51not even know that they're shedding as yet because you haven't seen your dog unwell.
00:56So they'll pass those faeces out, and those faeces, if they get mixed into the soil or
01:02the dirt, which is often the case when your dog has diarrhoea, it essentially can live
01:07in that soil.
01:08So if there's moisture, there's a little bit of heat, and then another dog comes along,
01:13they can pick up that virus, they can ingest it, and then they can start to show symptoms
01:17within about 10 to 14 days.
01:20Gosh.
01:21How effective is a vaccination?
01:23Vaccinations are really, really effective, and they're the main way that we can prevent
01:28disease.
01:29No vaccination is 100% though, so if any dog is showing symptoms, even if it is vaccinated,
01:35I would still really strongly recommend that you go and see your veterinarian.
01:39But certainly in those younger dogs, younger puppies who may still be undergoing their
01:43vaccination course, it's really, really important that our owners take a lot of care with where
01:48they take those dogs.
01:49I certainly would recommend avoiding places like the dog park, places that are really
01:54highly populated like woody ovals and those sorts of things.
02:00So when a puppy, a dog comes into you and you suspect a parvovirus, what's the treatment?
02:06What's the course?
02:07Yeah.
02:08So generally if they suspect it, there is some diagnostic testing that we can do to
02:12show us whether or not they do have parvovirus.
02:16Generally it's supportive care, so we rehydrate them with IV fluids.
02:21We aggressively treat them with anti-nausea medication.
02:27We certainly try and entice them with special diets and those sorts of things.
02:32The hard thing with parvovirus is the reason why it is such a nasty virus.
02:36When these dogs get infected, specifically our puppies, the virus sheds in the gastrointestinal
02:42tract, but it also sheds in the bone marrow.
02:45And that's where we get our white blood cell production, which is really important for
02:50preventing disease.
02:52So essentially it's quite a smart virus because it's causing disease, but it's also knocking
02:56out that animal's ability to mount a response.
02:59So often we need supportive care with antibiotics.
03:03Treatment can often take 10 to 14 days to get that puppy back up to, or that dog back
03:09up to normal health.
03:11Gosh, and as I mentioned at the beginning, it's being called an outbreak down there in
03:16South Australia.
03:17There's cases too in New South Wales.
03:18I mean, how prevalent?
03:20What sort of numbers are we talking?
03:22Yeah, look, it's not uncommon this time of year.
03:25Certainly as we move into the spring and summer months where it's a lot warmer, there's still
03:30a lot of moisture around.
03:31But people are also out and about.
03:33We're just before Christmas.
03:34People are starting to get puppies for Christmas time.
03:37They're walking their dogs because they're enjoying that much warmer weather.
03:40So it is something that we do see at this time of year.
03:44Down in South Australia, we have had some issues in our northern and western suburbs.
03:49It certainly is something that we do predict that it may pop up in other areas around,
03:56but we're not surprised to see it.
03:57As I said, often in areas where we've got low vaccination rates, we do see it raising
04:04its head each year.
04:05But it's something that we're certainly really, really keen to try and educate those dog and
04:09puppy owners so that we can get our vaccination rates up and hopefully make sure that people
04:14are aware of the risks so that they can discuss a plan of how to keep their animals safe with
04:19their local vet.
Comments