Symptoms of Parvo – What Are They?
Before checking out dog parvo symptoms, let us take a look at what parvo is, what it can do to your do, and how it is spread. Parvo virus was first identified in’78 and within two years’ it had spread all over the world. Over the years, the parvo virus has mutated into two different strains and there is evidence of a third strain present in Italy, Spain and Vietnam. Every case of canine parvo virus, or CPV, comes from the first two strains. Every different species has its own parvo virus and it cannot be spread outside of the species, so there is a human parvo virus, a canine parvo virus, a feline parvo virus, and so on.
Even though the virus cannot be spread from a cat to a dog or from a bird to a cat, they can spread the virus through contact. For instance, your cat wanders through the neighbor’s yard and picks up the virus on her feet she can then bring it into your home potentially infecting any canines on the property.
The parvovirus works in one of two ways through the intestines or the heart. The intestinal infection is picked up by the animal through oral contact with contaminated feces. In other words through the feces of another canine who is infected. The virus then attacks rapidly dividing cells in the lymph nodes, intestinal crypts and bone marrow. This will allow normally occurring bacteria from the intestine to enter the blood stream making the animal septic. The virus will be shed in the stool for up to three weeks making this disease very contagious to non-vaccinated pets.
The cardio form of this infection is often seen in puppies that are infected from the womb or shortly after birth. It is well worth noting that the cardiac form of CPV is not as common since the mother passes immunity on to her puppies from birth. The parvo virus then attacks the heart in the infected pup and death results shortly thereafter.
Dog parvo symptoms usually present themselves within 3 to 10 days of contact. They include the following: lethargy, vomiting, fever and diarrhea. The diarrhea can cause severe dehydration and secondary infections. The dog will not usually die from the virus but from a secondary infection.
The survival rate depends upon how swiftly parvo virus is diagnosed and treatment is begun. If the virus is not caught early on, the usual treatment is given through an IV line in which fluids are pushed to re-hydrate the puppy or dog more quickly. In addition to giving fluids, anti-nausea and antibiotic shots may be given intramuscularly. Given the proper care, the prognosis is good, but if care is withheld your dog will die prematurely. Most vets will strongly suggest that your pet be vaccinated against parvo about eight weeks after a puppy is weaned.
Find out more about parvo virus and ideas on treating dog symptoms of parvo without the need for needles and potentially harmful chemicals, consider treating symptoms of parvo naturally.
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