What Is Parvovirus?
Nearly 2,000 pet and stray dogs in Amravati city were affected by canine parvovirus virus last month with veterinarians cautioning pet owners against a severe outbreak.
What is Parvovirus?
- It is a highly contagious viral disease affecting puppies and dogs.
- It affects the intestinal tract of canines with puppies being more susceptible.
- Bloody diarrhoea, vomiting, drastic weight loss, dehydration and lethargy are some of the symptoms.
- The virus has reported a 90 per cent mortality rate.
- This virus was discovered in 1967 and has rapidly become a serious threat to canine health. This is primarily due to the fact that the virus is hard to kill, can live for a long time in the environment, and is shed in large quantities by infected dogs.
How does the virus spread in dogs?
- Through direct contact with an infected dog or by indirect contact with a contaminated object, including the hands and clothing of people who handle infected dogs.
The recent rise in cases of Parvovirus in pets is due to the Covid-19 pandemic that compelled many pet owners to avoid timely vaccination of their dogs.
- Also, due to the non-implementation of the animal birth control programme, dog vaccination and rabies in the last three years has led to rising parvovirus cases in street dogs in the city.
- Parvovirus has no cure and inoculating a puppy or a dog gives them a fighting chance against the infection.
