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Parvo Disease

What do you know of Parvo Disease (dog's disease)?

The causative agent of CPV disease, as the name infers, is a virus. The main source of the virus is the feces of infected dogs. The stool of an infected dog can have a high concentration of viral particles. Susceptible animals become infected by ingesting the virus. Subsequently, the virus is carried to the intestine where it invades the intestinal wall and causes inflammation.

Unlike most other viruses, CPV is stable in the environment and is resistant to the effects of heat, detergents, and alcohol. CPV has been recovered from dog feces even after three months at room temperature. Due to its stability, the virus is easily transmitted via the hair or feet of infected dogs, contaminated shoes, clothes, and other objects. Direct contact between dogs is not required to spread the virus. Dogs that become infected with the virus and show clinical signs will usually become ill within 7-10 days of the initial infection.
Ref. https://www.animalclinic.com/parvo.htm

Disease Parvo

So if the dog has the virus in its feces, that means that the dog with the infected feces must be infected already. But that also means that the disease spreads easily and for long periods of time since it stays stabile for three weeks or more. One infected dog can spread it for weeks. I'm not sure how to kill it either since in is not effected by alcohol.

Parvo Disease UFO & Writing Art Education Sciences

Our Golden Retriever contacted Parvo when he was a puppy, about 10 months old. We had no clue what he had and neither did the vet at first. She thought he had swallowed a golf ball or something because of the lump. They operated to remove the ball and discovered the lump was his intestines all wrapped up due to Parvo. They treated him and he completely recovered and lived to be 13. He just died this February.

Disease Parvo

I have had a couple dogs that have contracted this virus. They are usually vaccinated for this virus at the first trip to the vet (provided they are 6 wks or older). There is no cure for parvo that I am aware of. The virus remains active for like a year in the infected area (if outdoors), if indoors a good cleaning with bleach will kill the virus to keep it from causing infection in another dog. There is little that you can do if the dog catches parvo, however I had success with treating an infected dog with frozen ice cubes and pedialyte (you have to keep the dog hydrated because in most cases that is what kills the animal, not the virus itself).

That's about all I know on the topic.

Disease Parvo

Streea, I think you are "spot on" with your information that it is the de-hydration that kills most of the time and not the virus. We had a dog, that when he was 4 months old contracted this disease, he was so very poorly, we phoned around all the local vets, but because he happened to become ill in the evening, nobody wanted to treat him "out of hours" We were fortunate enough to find one vet, who's veterinary surgery was shut, but he had left an emergency contact number. We phoned the emergency number, and the vet told us to get our puppy immediately down to his surgery, and he would be there to open up especially for our puppy!He came out at 11pm, and immediately put him on a re-hydration drip. He kept him on this drip for 2 days, giving him the essential fluids that his little body needed,ultimately saving his life.The vet told us to feed him for a few weeks on rabbit flavoured cat food (apparently it is very gentle on the stomach)
Within a week, Bruce was back to his normal self.
We are so eternally grateful to that vet, but the most humbling thing was, that he had sat there with our puppy hour after hour, until he was better, and he wouldn't take any money off us, he was so dedicated to the welfare, and his love for animals.
It is people like this who make this world a better place.

Bruce lived another fantastic 15 years, and was a real character, who we will never forget.

Edited: DianeC on 23rd Feb, 2006 - 9:03pm

Parvo Disease

Our little puppy Gigi has contracted this virus. The vet wants to charge us $400 PER DAY to treat her, minimum of 3 days -- and this with NO guarantee that she will pull through! Well, I don't have that kind of money. I asked if there were anything I could do, and the technician said to use Pedialyte or even plain Gatorade or Propel to restore fluids and electrolytes -- but again, the virus is so powerful, that there is no guarantee she will live.

So I searched online and found some home treatments, but it's constant dosing with this special tea formula you cook up. I've done the best I could, given that I still have to go to work and school. It's been nearly five days. This morning, she started vomiting again at about 5:00 a.m. and every twenty minutes it just kept coming and coming. I didn't think she had that much in her, she is so tiny. When I got home for my lunch break about an hour ago, she couldn't even get off the pallet to greet me, and she has these smelly, horrible bloody stools everywhere.

I believe she will die today. It's the saddest thing, poor tiny puppy and we couldn't save her.

Parvo Disease

That is unfortunate, I know the effects of losing a pet. Do you know if she was originally vaccinated against Parvo Disease?

Parvo Disease Sciences Education Art Writing & UFO

Oh Farseer, I feel so very, very sorry for you and your poorly little puppy.
That's just awful, and seems so unfair that nobody will help you. You can't do more than you are doing, and it sounds like you've tried everything available to you.
I know over here there are clinics that people can take their pets to belonging to the RSPCA, if you're on low income you can get huge reductions on treatments...maybe you could phone ASPCA and see if they can do anything to help?
I'm praying for you both, best wishes, Diane