Diagnosing and Treating Canine Parvovirus

1 What Parvo Is and Its Forms

Canine parvovirus is an acute, contagious disease of dogs caused by the parvovirus, and one of the most severe infectious diseases threatening them. It has no clear season and strikes weaned puppies at the highest rate. It splits into gastroenteritis and myocarditis types. The enteritis type is more common in young adult dogs: vomiting first, then diarrhea — stool starts yellow with heavy mucus, then turns tomato-juice red with a foul, fishy stench — plus fever and low white-cell count. Adult dogs usually do not fall ill, have milder disease, and a higher cure rate.

The myocarditis type is more common in puppies. The infected dog may look normal in mood and appetite, with only occasional vomiting, mild diarrhea, slight fever, or breathing trouble. The pulse is fast and weak, the mucous membranes pale, the heartbeat irregular. This form often strikes suddenly and kills within hours; the death rate is high, usually from heart failure.

If you see the above signs, take the dog to a proper clinic promptly — the cure rate is still fairly high.

2 Transmission and Prevention

Parvo spreads mainly through the digestive tract. The sick dog is the main source; its diarrhea, urine, and vomit all carry virus. A healthy dog catches it by contacting a sick dog or eating contaminated food. Prevention rests on vaccination — follow the normal schedule to guard against parvo and several other infections.

Isolate any sick dog at once and keep it from healthy dogs. Disinfect the kennel and gear repeatedly with 2% caustic soda solution or 10–20% bleach. A key warning: if you ever had a puppy with this disease at home, even after disinfecting, do not bring in another unvaccinated puppy — it will be infected and fall ill almost immediately.