What is it? Parvo or parvovirus is a virus which attacks the lining of the intestine. It commonly causes lethargy, inappetence, vomiting and diarrhea that tend to become bloody. If theses symptoms become severe enough, it can result in death.
Where does my dog catch it? Parvo is shed in the faeces. This can occur for a few days before any symptoms develop, leading to a large contamination of the environment. You can also take it home in mud on your shoes, car tires, etc. So, as your dog sniffs and chews on things, they can potentially be exposed to the virus.
How do I know my dog has it?? The symptoms above (vomiting, bloody diarrhea, lethargy), although not specific to parvovirus alone, are very suspicious, especially in dogs that have not been vaccinated, or have not yet had all of their puppy vaccinations. It is important to remember that this virus takes up to 7-10 days to show signs once they’ve got it, which means that they may come in to be vaccinated appearing perfectly healthy, and yet come down with the disease a few days later. The vaccination takes approximately 10-14 days to work properly which means they could pick up the virus in that time and not have enough of an immune response to prevent them from getting the disease. When you come into the clinic, we test for the virus with a small test kit which uses a swab of faeces from the rectum. It gives us an answer within 10 minutes.
How do you treat it? The main pillars of treatment for a dog with parvovirus are antibiotics and fluids. Due to the nature of the disease, the barrier between the gut and the blood breaks down, allowing normal gut bacteria into the blood stream. Antibiotics will help prevent complications from this, though they do not affect the virus itself.
Dogs that are vomiting and have diarrhoea are unlikely to be able to hold in much water and therefore dehydrate very quickly (especially very small dogs). As such, getting fluids into them, either by intravenous line or by mouth is essential.
Unfortunately, there are some cases that are too advanced to be able to bring back, and due to the severity of this disease, it may be better for the dog to be euthanased.
If the disease is so bad, why did the vet send me home with my dog? Some dogs do only get a mild case of this disease. If there is no vomiting, and the dog is not dehydrated, the vet may elect to treat your dog at home. Also, some dogs that are not dehydrated, but are vomiting, may be treated at home, using an injection that lasts approximately 24hours, which can help stop vomiting. This will allow you to get some fluids and electrolytes into your dog, as well as the antibiotics. It is important, however, that you continue to closely monitor your dog, and if symptoms become worse, or do not seem to improve, especially after 3-4 days, that you speak to us about other options. In-hospital treatment can be significantly more costly due to intravenous fluids, plasma infusion, isolation, and injectable antibiotics being administered daily, however, we would also rather see a dog come back that is getting slightly worse or not improving earlier, rather than letting the dog go too far and either die, or have to be euthanased when it does eventually come back.
How to clean up at home. F10, bleach (5% solution) and ultraviolet light are effective at eliminating the virus on hard surfaces. All contaminated food bowls, toys, bedding, etc. should be disposed of.