Diagnosis, Prevention, & Treatment of Canine Parvovirus

Young puppies may suddenly experience difficulty breathing and heart failure, which can lead to sudden death due to myocarditis symptoms within a short period. Clinically, purebred dogs and imported dogs have a higher incidence rate than local breeds. This disease can occur throughout the year, but it is more prevalent during the cold winter and spring months, when the toxic levels in the feces of affected dogs are at their highest.

After being infected with the parvovirus, dogs can be clinically categorized into enteritis and myocarditis types:

Enteritis Type

The incubation period for naturally infected dogs is typically 7 days. Initially, symptoms include fever, with temperatures reaching above 40°C, depression, loss of appetite, and vomiting. Initially, the vomit consists of food, appearing as mucous and yellowgreen liquids. After one day of illness, diarrhea begins, with the initial feces being thin and resembling porridge. As the disease progresses, the feces turn to a tomato saucelike or coffeecolored consistency, are malodorous, and the frequency of defecation is irregular, with symptoms ranging from acute to severe.

After the appearance of blood in the feces, affected dogs may exhibit symptoms such as sunken eyes, dry nose, overall weakness, decreased skin elasticity, and significant weight loss. Additionally, they may show pale conjunctivae and severe anemia.

Without timely treatment, this disease can lead to the absorption of toxins from the intestinal contents, causing shock and coma, which can result in death. Blood tests may show a decrease in red blood cell count, hemoglobin, and hematocrit, as well as a reduction in white blood cells.

With timely and appropriate treatment, the mortality rate of dogs infected with the enteritis type of parvovirus can be significantly reduced.

Myocarditis Type

Some dogs may suddenly experience difficulty breathing and heart failure, leading to death within a short period. Others may exhibit mild diarrhea followed by death.

How to Diagnose Canine Parvovirus

Firstly, determine if the affected dog has been in contact with other dogs suffering from parvovirus. Clinical symptoms, such as frequent vomiting, severe diarrhea, and the passage of dark red or tomato juicelike, malodorous stools, can be indicative of the disease.

For initial diagnosis, specific diagnostic tests and CPV rapid diagnostic test strips are required.

Take a small amount of dog feces, mix it with diluent, and then use a pipette to add 12 drops of the diluted solution to the test strip wells. After 10 minutes, the results can be determined. If only one C line appears on the test strip, the result is negative. If both the C line and T line appear, the result is positive. This method has a high detection rate and is very helpful for clinical workers at the grassroots level.

Blood agglutination and hemagglutination inhibition tests are simple, costeffective, and applicable methods, but they have lower sensitivity. In China, these tests are mainly used to monitor the level of CPV immune antibodies and have not been widely applied in clinical settings.

Electron microscopy can be performed at a veterinary hospital, where the supernatant of the feces is used for negative staining under an electron microscope. First, the feces are treated with chloroform to obtain the supernatant, stained with phosphotungstic acid, and then observed under an electron microscope. Initially, uniformly sized, scattered virus particles can be seen. In the later stages of infection, the virus particles aggregate due to the appearance of intestinal mucosal secretory antibodies.

How to Prevent Canine Parvovirus

Ensure proper vaccination for your furry friend.

Generally, canine parvovirus inactivated vaccines are used in combination with other vaccines. For example, when using the canine hexavalent vaccine, puppies should receive two injections, while dogs over 90 days old need only two. The recommended interval is three weeks, with each injection being 2 milliliters. Subsequently, a booster shot should be administered annually.

Observe and isolate your dog, and maintain strict disinfection practices.

When a dog becomes ill, the doghouse and feeding utensils should be cleaned daily with a petspecific disinfectant for two consecutive weeks. For mild cases, symptomatic and supportive treatments should be administered, including intravenous fluid replacement with saline, administration of sodium bicarbonate to prevent acidosis, and antibiotics to prevent secondary infections. Hightiter antiparvovirus immune globulin can also be used for treatment. Each dog should receive a subcutaneous or intramuscular injection of 510 milliliters, administered every other day for three days.

How to Treat Canine Parvovirus

Canine parvovirus is generally treated with intravenous fluids, along with a period of fasting and water deprivation. Treatment principles usually include antiemetics, hemostasis, symptomatic fluid replacement, antiviral and antiinflammatory therapy. The course of the disease typically lasts one week, with a certain mortality rate. Specific treatment plans should be chosen based on the dog's clinical symptoms.

If the dog's mental state is relatively good and there are no obvious signs of dehydration, injection therapy can be chosen.

For dogs with more severe symptoms, such as bloody feces, diarrhea, poor appetite, and significant dehydration, intravenous fluid therapy, timely hemostasis, and antiemetic treatment are necessary.

Other treatments should be based on specific symptoms. The treatment for parvovirus can be lengthy, and there may be complications during the process, such as intestinal flora imbalance, prolapse, and intussusception. Treatments should be tailored to the dog's specific condition, and it is important to seek veterinary care promptly and actively treat the condition.