Symptoms and Treatment of Canine Parvovirus

1 Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment

I. Symptoms of canine parvovirus

There are two forms of parvo: enteritis type and myocarditis type.

1. Enteritis-type parvo

This form has an incubation period of about 7 to 14 days.

Signs include repeated vomiting and diarrhea, with yellow or gray-yellow stool, and heavy discharge of nasal and eye secretions.

Two to three days in, the stool turns tomato-juice red with blood, and the waste has a fishy odor. The dog becomes listless, loses appetite, runs a high fever, and feels very thirsty. In late stage the temperature drops below normal, with keratitis, conjunctivitis, and finally death from dehydration or collapse.

2. Myocarditis-type parvo

It comes on fast, attacking the heart, causing difficulty breathing and a rapid heartbeat, leading to sudden death. It is rarer and mostly affects puppies; main signs are labored breathing and arrhythmia, prone to acute heart failure, and a heart murmur on auscultation. Diagnosis needs a fecal exam or electron microscopy.

II. How parvovirus is diagnosed

1. A basic diagnosis is usually made from a blood count plus the dog’s specific signs. Blood showing increased red cells and normal or low white cells basically confirms a viral infection.

2. Parvo test-strip: simple, fast, and accurate. Mix the dog’s vomit or stool into the reagent, stir, then drop into the test well. Wait 3 to 5 minutes; if both C and T lines are red, the result is positive – the dog is infected.

III. How to treat parvovirus

Small dogs easily die from excessive diarrhea, vomiting, dehydration, and shock. So withhold food and give only a little drinking water for 24 to 72 hours, keep warm, and prevent colds. A small amount of antibiotics and serum by injection raises survival and cure rates.

1. Withhold food

Small dogs easily go into shock from twitching, vomiting, and dehydration, and may even die. During parvo treatment, withhold food for 24 to 72 hours but still provide a little water, and maintain life with glucose, vitamins, and saline drips.

2. Care

Small dogs are weak with very low immunity and easily catch colds, fever, or gastritis from chills or poor digestion. When caring for a parvo-infected dog, keep it in a warm, comfortable incubator or use AC or floor heating, and clean off soiled feces promptly.

3. Injection therapy

Vaccinating the dog effectively extends life and raises survival; long-term antibiotics affect the body more. If the dog is very weak, IV nutrition such as glucose solution can be given at about 60 ml per kg.

4. Chinese herbal therapy

Wumei 15 g, Baitouweng 15 g, Huangbo 5 g, Huanglian 5 g, Yujin 10 g, Hezi 10 g.

Usage: add 1000 g water, boil, one dose daily; heat the liquid before giving. If the dog vomits a lot, inject Metoclopramide about 2 hours before dosing; if vomiting is severe, add dietary therapy.

IV. How to prevent parvovirus

1. Take the dog for regular vaccinations.

2. When a dog at home gets parvo, isolate it at once and fully disinfect the kennel and utensils. Dogs that cannot be cured should be culled and buried deep.

3. Myocarditis-type parvo worsens rapidly and often kills before treatment is possible. With timely, proper care, the death rate of enteritis-type cases drops sharply.

4. Current clinical practice combines symptomatic treatment with high-immune serum and monoclonal antibodies. Adult dogs have a high cure rate, but puppies may have side effects.

Tip: Prevention through vaccination is the most reliable defense against parvo.