Killer Disease Ruins Christmas

Following the deaths, the week before Christmas, of a bitch and two of her puppies, ruining the Christmas of one Rustington family, Pet Doctors Veterinary Clinics are urging dog owners to make sure their pets are up-to-date with their vaccinations, particularly for parvovirus, the killer disease in this case.

“We were all distressed when a young feeding mother was brought into the clinic this week suffering from parvovirus.  Both she and two of her puppies have died and a third is fighting for its life at the moment.  We are closely monitoring the remaining puppies as they could still be infected,” said David Hodges, a veterinary surgeon at Pet Doctors.  “Parvovirus is a very infectious deadly viral disease which can be picked up from the environment,“ warned David.

Easily spread on shoes, clothing and on the coat and feet pads of your dog, parvovirus causes acute gastroenteritis.  Symptoms come on quickly and include bloody diarrhoea, vomiting and lethargy.  Sadly, the majority of dogs suffering from the disease die very painfully within 48-72 hours of being taken ill.

The disease is believed to be on the increase because the number of dogs vaccinated against parvovirus has fallen below the amount needed to develop what is known as “herd immunity”.  A certain percentage of the population needs to be vaccinated to keep the disease at bay.  In the case of parvovirus the number of dogs currently vaccinated is thought to have fallen low enough not to protect the dog population as a whole.  Prevention through a safe regular vaccination is the only method of protecting dogs against serious diseases like parvovirus, distemper and hepatitis and against those, such as leptospirosis, that can be transmitted to people. 

“To safeguard your pet and prevent it from suffering an untimely death, not to mention becoming a health hazard both to other dogs and to people, check that your pet’s vaccinations are up-to-date,” pleaded David Hodges.

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