Four Things to Know About Parvo in Dogs

The virus canine parvovirus was discovered back in 1967 and has slowly evolved to become a formidable threat to the health of dogs around the world.  Fortunately, it is preventable with proper and timely vaccination. Scientists believe that the reason the virus has been around for this long stems from the fact that it is extremely hard to exterminate and infected dogs tend to shed copious amounts of it.  Here are some of the things you need to know about Parvo.

1. It’s Extremely Contagious

Canine parvovirus is extremely contagious and that’s why vaccination is super-important. If anything, the parvo vaccine is regarded as a core vaccine for young pups and older dogs alike in most countries. However, as much as vaccination has done a lot to lower the prevalence of this deadly disease, Parvovirus still lurks around, especially among unvaccinated adolescent dogs and puppies.

2. Spread Mainly by Contact

Parvovirus might be unfathomably contagious but it is not airborne in any way. It is, instead, spread by contact with infected surfaces, especially by contaminated feces. As mentioned above, Parvo is quite a hardy virus and can live in the ground, clothing or cracks in the kennel for weeks if not months while remaining infectious. Poodles can also harbour it in their paws and furs if they are unfortunate enough to have gotten into contact with infected surfaces. The virus is also incredibly resistant to most standard disinfectants and you may want to wipe it down with bleach if you want to get rid of it.

 3. Know the Signs of Parvo in Dogs

An infected dog tends thttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canine_parvoviruso manifest the initial symptoms between four to eight days of initial infection. The first recognizable sign is usually lethargy, although they can also have a high fever and lose their appetite. Your canine may start to suffer from diarrhoea and vomiting as the virus multiplies and the infection progresses to full-blown status.

4. Parvo Tests

Parvovirus is diagnosed majorly through fecal ELISA tests which test for the presence of the virus DNA in the canine’s waste. And although the test is quite accurate by modern standards, a negative test does not always mean that the dog is not infected. They may be asymptomatic and haven’t yet started shedding the main viral antigen at test time.

References: AKC, AVMA, Wikipedia