What are the early symptoms of canine distemper and how to prevent canine distemper

Nov 03,2023
8Min

What is canine distemper

Canine distemper mainly harms puppies. The causative agent is canine distemper virus. Sick dogs are characterized by biphasic fever, rhinitis, severe digestive tract disorders and respiratory inflammation. Encephalitis may occur in a few cases.

Sick dogs’ various secretions and excretions (nasal juice, saliva, tears, pericardial fluid, pleural effusion, ascites and urine) as well as blood, cerebrospinal fluid, lymph nodes, liver, spleen, spinal cord and other organs contain large amounts of viruses. , and can detoxify to the outside world along with respiratory secretions and urine. Respiratory or digestive tract infection occurs when healthy dogs come into direct contact with sick dogs or through contaminated air or food. In addition to puppies being the most susceptible to infection, foxes and minks among fur animals are also very susceptible to canine distemper.

Symptoms and characteristics of canine distemper

1. Epidemiological characteristics: The disease mostly occurs in the cold season (October to April of the following year) , especially in units or areas where dogs are concentrated. Once a disease occurs in a group of dogs, it is difficult to prevent other puppies from becoming infected unless they are completely isolated. Lactating puppies rarely develop disease because they receive antibodies from their mother's milk. Puppies between 3 months and 1 year old are usually most susceptible to infection.

2. Clinical characteristics: The body temperature is biphasic (i.e., the body temperature rises to about 4°C at the beginning of the disease, lasts for 1 to 2 days, then drops to normal, and rises again after 2 to 3 days); the second time the body temperature rises Respiratory symptoms appear when the disease is high (a few cases die at this time). The sick dog coughs, sneezes, serous to purulent nasal discharge, dry nose, swollen eyelids, purulent conjunctivitis, and corneal ulcers often occur in the later stage; lower abdomen and medial femoral area There are rice-grained red spots, edema and purulent papules on the skin; vomiting is common; constipation at first, diarrhea soon, feces with foul odor, sometimes mixed with blood and bubbles.
In a few cases, hyperkeratosis of the skin on the soles of the feet and nose can be seen. About 10 to 30% of sick dogs have neurological symptoms (spasms, epilepsy, convulsions, etc.). The fatality rate of this disease can be as high as 30 to 80%. If mixed with canine infectious hepatitis and other diseases, the fatality rate will be higher. Because this disease is often mixed with canine infectious hepatitis and other diseases and secondary bacterial infection, the symptoms are complicated. Therefore, only a preliminary diagnosis can be made based on the above symptoms alone. For the final diagnosis, the patient materials (conjunctiva, bladder, stomach, lungs, trachea, brain, and serum) must be collected and sent to the testing unit for virus isolation, neutralization test and other specific tests. examine.

Prevention and control measures for canine distemper

(1) Regular vaccination: The canine distemper vaccine currently produced in my country is a cell culture attenuated vaccine. In order to improve the immune effect, the following immune procedures should be carried out. The first vaccination time for golden retrievers is 6 weeks old, the second vaccination time is at 8 weeks old, and the third vaccination time is at 10 weeks old. From now on, immunization is performed once a year, and the dose of each immunization is two milliliters, which can achieve a certain immune effect. In view of the presence of maternal antibodies in the bodies of puppies under 12 weeks of age, which can significantly affect the immune effect of canine distemper vaccine, therefore, for puppies under 12 weeks of age,For puppies under the age of 10, it is best to apply the measles vaccine (canine distemper virus and measles virus belong to the measles virus and have the same antigenicity). The specific vaccination method is: when the puppies are 1 month old and 2 months old, Each dog is immunized once with measles vaccine, and the immunization dose is 1 ml per dog intramuscularly (2 or 5 servings). When they are 12 to 16 weeks old, they are immunized with canine distemper vaccine. According to reports from some units, better immune effects can be obtained when immunized with this immune program.

(2) In order to strengthen veterinary health and epidemic prevention measures, each breeding farm should try to be self-reliant. During popular seasons, it is strictly prohibited to bring personal dogs to the meeting location.

(3) Timely isolation and treatment: Timely detection of sick dogs, early isolation and treatment, and prevention of secondary infections are the key to improving the cure rate. In the early stage of the disease, anti-canine distemper hyperimmune serum or serum (or whole blood) of dogs recovered from the disease can be injected intramuscularly or subcutaneously. The dosage of serum should be determined according to the condition and the size of the dog's body. Generally, 5 to 10 ml can be used to obtain a certain curative effect.
There are reports that while using hyperimmune serum for treatment, combined with the application of anti-duling freeze-dried powder for injection, the therapeutic effect can be improved. The usage method and dosage are: before treatment, use 20 ml of normal saline or water for injection. Dissolve the anti-toxic spirit and inject 2 to 4 bottles of it intravenously for medium-sized dogs. For dogs that are younger than 1 month old, the dosage may be reduced.
Antitoxic spirit can also be injected intramuscularly. In addition, early application of antibiotics (such as penicillin, streptomycin, etc.), combined with symptomatic treatment, is of great significance in preventing secondary bacterial infection and in the recovery of sick dogs.

(4) Completely disinfect kennels and sports venues: Kennels and sports venues should be disinfected with 3% caustic soda (also known as sodium hydroxide) solution or 10% formalin.

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