Help! My 6 month old puppy won't eat drink and is very lethargic. i can't figure out what is wrong with him. We live in the country and my cat catches rabbits and squirrel (bird) all the time and sometime the dog eats them. What could be wrong with him?
Parvovirus
Is your puppy at risk for Parvovirus?
Parvo is a virus that can survive extreme conditions and live in the soil and environment for years at a time. Parvo is ubiquitous and it is impossible to completely protect your puppy from exposure, but there are many things you can do to limit their exposure to this awful virus. Here is some information that will help give you more insight to this disease and how to protect your pup from getting sick with it.
How do puppies get Parvo?
This virus is hearty, has been in known existence for about 20 + years. It’s hard to disinfect (susceptible to 1:10 bleach solution with water) and it is highly contagious. Bottom line? This disease is everywhere, but can be more prevalent in dog parks, places that house puppies, places where dogs are walked or where they have played. The route of transmission is fecal-oral route. This means a dog has to ingest fecal material from a dog that is infected. This is easier to do than most people think! Remember, this is highly contagious and in most cases, a puppy on need ingest a small portion of infected stool to be exposed. This can happen with a meet and greet interaction between dogs, sniffing and licking rear ends, mouths, sharing water sources. The virus enters through the mouth this way, and can even be as the puppy cleans itself or eats food off the ground or floor. So, you don’t have to see your pup physically eat fecal material to know there is possible exposure. The incubation period is roughly 3-7 days.
Is Parvo only found in puppies?
Puppies are definitely the most common age group found with Parvo. It is rare for an adult dog to be positive for Parvo, but it is possible. Most adult dogs have immunity to this virus because they have been vaccinated as puppies and have a good immune response to this disease. Adult dogs that develop Parvo are usually not current on their vaccines, never received them to begin with or have some decreased immunity due to other disease, such as auto-immune disorders. Puppies that have a few vaccines, but never complete their full vaccination series are still at risk for Parvo. Please see vaccination information below to prevent Parvovirus in your puppy.
Is there a certain time that is more crucial for puppy protection?
Puppies at birth do not have antibodies against disease. They have maternal antibodies they get from their mother that helps protect them initially from disease. They get most of these protective antibodies from nursing their mother’s milk the first few days after they are born. So, why aren’t they protected forever? Gradually, starting around the age of 8-9 weeks, they start to lose these protective antibodies and start making their own. It is critical that you begin booster vaccines on your puppy at this age and continue them every 3 weeks, until they are 16 weeks of age. This is the most critical and susceptible age for Parvo because puppies are at their weakest immunologically, as they are losing maternal antibody production and they are not quite fully protecting themselves yet with their antibodies for vaccination.
We recommend that puppies be restricted from public outdoor areas until their vaccination series is completed at age 16 weeks.
Reducing your puppy’s risk of exposure is the best preventive care along with Parvo vaccines starting at 8-9 weeks or age and given every 3 weeks until they are 16 weeks of age. Please keep in mind that there is about a week somewhere in that time frame in which the puppy has no maternal antibodies and they are not yet responding readily to vaccines.
How does it infect and damage the body?
Parvovirus attacks rapidly dividing cells in the body, which are the lymph nodes, the bone marrow and the gastrointestinal tract. The virus replicates here and then destroys the cells that are needed protection. Parvo basically destroys the immune system that acts to protect the body and it also destroys the gastrointestinal cells that are needed for digestion and protection from other bacteria and toxins. This is where the heaviest damage occurs and sloughing of the GI epithelium occurs, leaving the intestines ulcerated, raw and bleeding, open to infection and toxins. In addition, these pups cannot properly receive nutrients through the digestive tract and lack the energy to fight infection. Parvo usually kills puppies through secondary infection – the virus does the damage to the cells and the body and bacteria kill by invading the body through the gastrointestinal tract and causing sepsis or systemic bacterial infection. These puppies become weak, develop shock and dehydrated from vomiting and diarrhea, cannot absorb nutrients and develop severe infection with no way to fight it. All of these factors combined make this disease deadly.
How do we test for Parvo?
The most common clinical sign for Parvo is vomiting and diarrhea, followed by dehydration and inappetance. There is a simple snap test for Parvo that requires a swab of fresh fecal material from a puppy’s rectum. This test is quick and reliable. Puppies also develop a low white blood cell count and we can test for this with a blood test. These clinical signs with diagnostic results help clinch a diagnosis of parvoviral infection. Also, a veterinarian may choose to monitor white blood cell count or even attempt to artificially raise the white blood cell count in an infected puppy through treatment. It is also important to note that other diseases and secondary complications are possible alongside of initial diagnosis of Parvo. Anemia, or low red blood cells can develop with Parvo puppies and blood transfusions are not uncommon. Intussusception, or telescoping of the intestines is a possible condition that can develop in puppies with Parvo. If this is suspected, abdominal radiographs can be performed. Gastrointestinal parasites can also complicate Parvo disease.
How do we treat it?
All of the factors involved in Parvo make it difficult to treat and it is not an inexpensive treatment. The recommended treatment is hospitalization, IV fluids, supplemental electrolytes, parenteral nutrition, antibiotics, anti-emetics, antacids and anti-ulcerative medications, pain medications and GI protectants. Most pups stay an average of 5 days in hospital and it is not uncommon for treatment to cost several hundred to several thousand dollars. Treatment does not guarantee survival, however, and prognosis must be measured on a day to day, sometimes even hour to hour basis. Treatment for parvoviral infection centers on supportive care. There are no anti-viral drugs that can be used, so we must rely on supportive therapy to help through recovery and depend on the patient’s immune system to fight off infection. This is intense treatment and it is not easy to watch a pet be treated for this awful disease. They are often painful, uncomfortable and feel awful. The first 24-48 hours of treatment are usually the most critical in terms of response. Please also keep in mind that oral medication do no good in this scenario because their GI tract is affected and cannot appropriately absorb what they need. Often, they vomit the medication as well. Intravenously administered antibiotics are the treatment of choice in a hospital, critical care environment.
Home Treatment for Parvo
Home treatment for parvo infection is not preferred when compared to hospitalization and intensive care. With home treatment, mortality rises substantially. However, if financial concerns preclude hospitalization, home care may be the puppy’s only chance for survival. This treatment is around the clock and involves fluids given under the skin, constant cleaning and decontamination. Antibiotic injections are usually given in hospital and antibiotics of some kind are sent home with the owner to administer frequently. This care is very involved for an owner at home and is not recommended over hospitalization. It is rare for a puppy to survive Parvo with at home treatment.
Preventing Parvo Disease
Vaccinating Puppies
As mentioned previously, puppies obtain their immunity from their mother in nursing. This protects them from Parvo, however these maternal antibodies also inactivate vaccine.
So, the hard part is knowing when each individual puppy starts losing these maternal antibiodies and become receptive to vaccination. This age is different for every puppy and is impossible to pinpoint. To get around this, we vaccinate puppies in a series, giving a vaccine every 3 weeks until age 16 weeks. By age 16 weeks, we know that maternal antibodies are gone and vaccine should be effective. Please keep in mind that we cannot wait until 4 months of age to vaccinate, this will not adequately protect your puppy. We recommend beginning vaccinations at 8 weeks of age and continuing boosters every 3 weeks until they are 16 weeks of age.
Vaccinating Adult Dogs
We recommend yearly vaccination for adult dogs against Parvovirus. If the vaccine history is unknown, it is recommend to start with the vaccine and give a booster 3 weeks later, then repeat yearly.
Once your puppy has had all of her shots, how long after can you take it outside? We have a three month old chihuahua who just finished her last set of shots last week.
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Questions Answered By:
Dr. Lauryn Spohn, DVM
