new parvo

[jaborichard]

I just heard that there is a serious outbreak of some kind of parvo thats killing with in 12 days of being infected with out any warning. Has anyone else heard of this? Or is this just a rumor?

[miakoda]

I would say rumor. I, we, have heard of no such thing.

Yet, usually a dog infected with parvo might have a short incubation stage in which no symptoms are present, but the virus usually kills within a week as the dog dies from dehydration/starvation. So to have a dog infected & die within a 12 day period is actually quite the norm.

HOWEVER, viruses do mutate & we cannot sit back & believe that the current strain of parvovirus won't or hasn't already done so. We, our clinic, are seeing more & more dogs that have been vaccinated, some twice, coming down with the virus. Plus, we are seeing older dogs also becoming affected, though one would expect that an older dog would've already acquired immunity or been sick a long time ago (we just had a 2 year dog in with the virus).

One must also remember, that this is a relatively "new" virus (younger than 50 yrs old) & is believed to be one that jumped species thereby reaffirming that viruses do mutate. Consistent & current vaccinations are the key to keeping your pups and dogs healthy.

Edit: Another reason why there seems to be an increase in the parvovirus, is because it's spreading due to improper cleaning of a parvo infected home and yard. Bleach is the ONLY thing that will kill this virus. If it's in your yard, make a bleach/water solution & spray the yard. Mop with floors with a diluted bleach solution (if one has wooden floors, contact your home flooring specialist to learn about the pros & cons as from what I know bleach is pretty harsh on wood). Everything possible should be bleached as this virus can be spread on the soles of shoes, clothing, hands, buckets, etc.