Causes of canine parvovirus

1. Canine parvovirus is highly resistant to external factors and can survive for 1 hour in an environment of 60°C. The virus can still cause infection in an environment that is acidic or alkaline. Viruses can survive for months to years on feces and solid pollutants; in low-temperature environments, their infectivity can be maintained for a long time. 0.5% formalin, 0.5% peracetic acid, 5% to 6% sodium hypochlorite, etc. can be used as disinfectants for this virus.

2. Sick dogs are the main source of infection of this disease. The feces, urine, vomitus and saliva of sick dogs contain the highest level of poison. Sick dogs continue to excrete viruses and infect other healthy dogs. The feces of recovered dogs carry poison for a long time. Therefore, once the disease occurs in a group of dogs, it is extremely difficult to completely eliminate it.

Key points for diagnosis of canine parvovirus

The prevalence of this disease has no obvious seasonality, but it is more common in cold winter. Puppies that have just been weaned mostly suffer from myocarditis syndrome, while young dogs mostly suffer from enteritis syndrome. At the same time, the disease mainly appears in two clinical forms, namely enteritis type and myocarditis type.

A) Enteritis type:

1. The incubation period is 7 to 14 days.

2. Generally, there is vomiting first and then diarrhea. The stool is yellow or gray-yellow and contains a large amount of mucus and pseudomembrane.

3. 2 to 3 days after the illness, the feces will be like tomato juice, mixed with blood, and have a special fishy smell.

4. The sick dog will soon show symptoms of dehydration. At this time, the sick dog will be depressed, lose its appetite, its body temperature will rise above 40 degrees Celsius, and its thirst will increase.

5. In the later stages, the body temperature of some sick dogs is lower than normal temperature, the mucous membranes are pale, the tail and rear abdomen are often contaminated with feces, and in severe cases, the anus is loose and dilated.

B), myocarditis type:

Puppies have difficulty breathing, hyperpalpitations, pale mucous membranes, physical failure, and often sudden death.
3. Preventive measures against canine parvovirus

1. The prevention of this disease is vaccination, which is usually a six-part vaccine or a seven-part vaccine together with canine distemper and other infectious diseases;

2. The disease progresses quickly, and the younger the dog, the higher the mortality rate. Early treatment is very important;

3. Dogs with myocarditis disease have a rapid course of disease, worsen rapidly, and often die before treatment is available;

4. If dogs with enteritis type can be treated promptly and reasonably, the mortality rate can be significantly reduced. Canine parvovirus hyperimmune serum is generally used for treatment, and glucose saline is used for rehydration according to the condition. Ribavirin is used to fight viruses, dexamethasone or kanamycin is used to fight secondary infections, and vitamin K is injected intramuscularly;

Reference treatment plan

1. Immune serum: early use can improve the efficacy. If there are multiple pet dogs at home, once one dog is diagnosed with this disease, other dogs should be injected with hyperimmune serum or recovered dog serum immediately. The dosage of hyperimmune serum is 0.5~1 ml/kg body weight, and the dosage of recovered dog serum is 0.5~2 ml/kgBody weight, use for 3 to 5 days. Hyperimmune serum can be used together with other antibacterial and anti-inflammatory drugs to improve the immune effect.

2. Rehydration: Sick dogs often die of dehydration, so rehydration is the main measure to treat this disease. The required ingredients and fluid rehydration volume should be determined based on the dog's dehydration degree and general condition. The general intravenous fluid rehydration volume is 60 ml/kg of body weight. It can be divided into intravenous rehydration, oral rehydration and peritoneal rehydration.

3. Antibacterial and anti-inflammatory: Various broad-spectrum antibiotics can be used, but do not use them for a long time to prevent imbalance of normal intestinal flora and delay the recovery of intestinal digestive function.

4. Antiemetic: For severe vomiting, 0.3-2 ml of Amor and metoclopramide (metoclopramide) can be injected intramuscularly.

5. Anti-shock: For patients with obvious shock symptoms, 5-15 mg of dexamethasone can be injected intramuscularly.

6. Strengthen care: Pay attention to keeping sick dogs warm. During diarrhea, they should stop feeding high-protein and high-fat feeds such as milk, eggs, and meat, and provide easily digestible feeds to reduce the burden on the gastrointestinal tract with alkali to improve the cure rate.

Advice for pet owners

1. Vaccinations should be done. Domestically produced inactivated canine parvovirus vaccines are used in combination with other vaccines. When using the canine pentavalent attenuated vaccine, dogs 30 to 90 days old should be injected three times, and dogs over 90 days old should be injected two times, with an interval of 2 to 4 weeks between each time. In the future, vaccination will be boosted every six months.

2. After a dog suffers from this disease, it should be isolated in time. The kennel and feeding equipment should be treated with 2%-4% caustic soda, 1% formalin, 0.5% peracetic acid or 5%-6% sodium hypochlorite. Disinfect repeatedly.

3. The carcasses of dead animals should be buried deeply or disposed of harmlessly.