Transmission Routes of Infectious Canine Hepatitis

1 How Infectious Canine Hepatitis Spreads

Route 1: Infection through the digestive tract.

Route 2: Infection through the placenta.

Route 3: Contact with the secretions or excretions of sick dogs or recovering carriers that still carry the virus.

Route 4: Transmission via external parasites that carry the virus.

2 Symptoms of Infectious Canine Hepatitis

1. Early signs include abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, and a rising temperature. In milder cases a dog may simply have a runny nose and poor appetite. Mild cases in adult dogs often resolve on their own within about four days.

2. Some infected dogs also develop conjunctivitis or keratitis, with frequent tearing. Many also show inflammatory swelling of the head, neck, and eyes. After the illness begins, body temperature rises and one or both eyes develop a white or bluish corneal opacity. Without prompt treatment this can progress into ‘blue eye’.

3. Common respiratory signs appear: the dog becomes listless with rapid, difficult breathing, a faster heartbeat, fever, coughing, and a runny nose. Nasal discharge is usually a pale yellow, thick fluid.

4. Touching or opening the dog’s mouth may reveal swollen tonsils and throat inflammation, followed by vomiting and diarrhea.

3 Prevention Notes

A reminder: infectious canine hepatitis most often affects puppies under one year of age and is especially dangerous because their ability to resist the virus is still low. Once you understand how the virus spreads, pay close attention to prevention in puppies and have them vaccinated as early as the right age and conditions allow.