Canine Parvovirus
#1 kill of puppies
#1 Disease of dogs
Canine Parvovirus or CPV is considered to be "ubiquitous," meaning that it is present in everywhere unless regular disinfection is applied.
This Single stranded DNA virus is very effective at infecting, intestinal cells, bone marrow cells, cells of the lymph system, and fetal cells.
History
CPV-1 discovered in 1967
CPV-2 first reported 1978
CPV-2a reported in 1978 / 1980
CPV-2b reported 1984 - now
No other variations found as of 2003
Transmission
Direct - fecal to mouth
Indirect - feces contaminated objects
Remains in feces at low temp less then 20 degrees F for months
Predisposition Factors to CPV
Lack of protective immunity
Internal parasites
Stressful enviroment
Incubation
4 - 7 days after infection
Signs of CPV
Anorexia
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Dehydration
Pnumonia
Bacterial toxic shock - Death
May cause spontanious abotion with or without fetal infection
Often abortion results from stress of the clinical disease.
Diagnosis
Cannot be diagnosed by looks or smell
Fecal swap tests are unreliable in vaccinated puppies
Lab test needed
White blood cell count
Parasite tests
Bacterial cultures
Antibody titer
IFA test on tissue
Disinfection
An infected dog sheds 35 million viral particles (35,000 TIMES the typical infectious dose) per OUNCE of stool.
Despite the claims of new cleaners, parvovirus remains virtually impossible to completely remove from an environment. The goal is to reduce the number of viral particles to an low level.
The best and most effective disinfectant against viruses (including parvoviruses) is BLEACH. One part bleach is mixed with 30 parts water and is applied to bowls, floors, surfaces, toys, bedding, and anything contaminated that is colorfast or for which color changes are not important.
Areas with good sunlight exposure should be considered contaminated for five months.
Shaded areas should be considered contaminated for seven months.
Freezing is completely protective to the virus. If the outdoors is contaminated and is frozen, you have to wait for it to thaw out before safely introducing a new puppy.
Indoors, virus loses its infectivity within one month, it should be safe to bring a new puppy indoors one month after the active infection has ended.
Treatment
Fluid Therapy
intravenous fluids given as a steady drip.
Antibiotics
Since the GI tract is damaged, antibiotics cannot be given orally they must be added into the IV fluid bag
After treatment
Your puppy cannot be re-infected with this virus for at least 3 years probably is protected for life.
Prevention
When a baby kitten or puppy is born, its immune system is not yet mature; the baby is wide open for infection. Fortunately, nature has a system of protection. The mother produces a special milk in the first few days. This milk is called "colostrum" and is rich in all the antibodies that the mother has to offer. As the babies drink this milk, they will be taking in their mother's immunity. After the first couple of days, regular milk is produced and the baby's intestines undergo what is called "closure," which means they are no longer able to take antibodies into their systems. These first two days are critical to determining what kind of immunity the baby will receive until its own system can take over.
Vaccines present virus to your pets immune system for processing. The idea is to present the virus in as natural a way as possible to best mimic the stimulation obtained by natural infection yet skip the illness experienced by the patient.
A vaccine is a solution of inactivated virus, either live and weakened “attenuated” or “modified” or killed.
Mother dogs vaccinated at approximately the time of breeding will have the highest antibody levels to pass on to their puppies.
Puppies that were born first or were more aggressive at nursing on the first day, will get more maternal antibody than their littermates.
The more maternal antibody a puppy has, the less likely a vaccine is to work.
The number of vaccines given has nothing to do with protection. In order for protection to be achieved, vaccine must be given when it can penetrate maternal antibody.
