Learn How To Recognize Symptoms Of Parvovirus
If you have a dog, you may have heard of canine parvovirus. This is a pathogen that is very contagious among dogs and often leads to death. There are several symptoms of parvo. You can recognize them and thus save the animal.
To prevent this disease, it is important that your furry friend walks in safe places every day. Today we will tell you how to recognize the symptoms of parvovirus , how the virus spreads and what treatment options are available.
A deadly disease
The parvovirus is caused by the canine parvovirus. It is a viral disease that primarily affects the digestive organs of dogs of all breeds. Parvovirus is particularly common in puppies, but it can also spread easily among adult dogs.
The virus affects the intestinal lining of the animals. It benefits from the rapid spread through the entire digestive tract and directly attacks the white blood cells. These are fundamental to the functioning of the immune system. When white blood cell density drops, two potentially fatal forms can result:
- Enteral : The virus affects the enterocytes of the digestive tract. This creates what appears to be a common gastrointestinal flu. In reality, however, the cells are forced to necrosis, which slowly spreads to the whole organism.
- Myocardial : This is a rare variant in which the heart cells of the animal are directly affected.
Causes of death associated with canine parvovirus include sudden death, infarction, dehydration from vomiting, and diarrhea, and sepsis.
How the disease spreads
Canine parvovirus is transmitted through direct contact with infected areas . This is because the virus survives in the animals’ feces and urine for a long time. Therefore it can also be transmitted indirectly.
A human who has been in contact with an infected animal’s habitat can transmit the disease because the virus survives on any surface.
It is therefore advisable to visit places where healthy dogs can be found. If any of the dogs in that zone shows symptoms of parvovirus, then they are putting the entire community at risk of infection.
One should be especially careful in places where there is rubbish on the street or where there is little hygiene. The flies, fleas, ticks, and birds that live on this junk transmit parvovirus just as quickly as a human could.
You can have your dog vaccinated against parvovirus, but that does not prevent the disease from spreading further in the area. It is therefore important that the virus is not accidentally passed on. To avoid this, one should pay attention to hygiene. This is especially true for your dog’s items.
Symptoms of parvovirus
Identifying symptoms of parvovirus right away can be a little tricky. They are quite similar to the symptoms of other diseases. They include:
- fever
- Bloody diarrhea
- Vomit
- Loss of appetite
- exhaustion
The symptoms of parvovirus can easily be confused with those of gastrointestinal flu. The only way to be sure is by doing a blood test. The leukocytes (white blood cells) are measured. As mentioned before, the disease destroys the immune system of the affected living being.
If you experience one or more symptoms of parvovirus, take your dog to the vet right away. This then carries out a professional diagnosis.
treatment
If the vet diagnoses parvovirus, they usually keep the animal in the clinic to avoid accidentally infecting other animals in the home or in the area. In most cases, the dogs are given antibiotics, but it can not always be said with certainty that the drugs are working.
Since it is a viral disease, there is no one hundred percent effective treatment for all cases. It is best to tackle the symptoms of parvovirus one at a time. In this way the animal strengthens itself and can defeat the disease.
Actually, we should immediately vaccinate our furry friend against this terrible disease so that we can save ourselves all the worries. Always pay attention to your dog’s hygiene and cleanliness and talk to other dog owners in the area about possible sources of the infection.
