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| When it comes to parvovirus, prevention is better than cure. Yuuki wouldn't know of course: she was vaccinated as a pup. Sometimes, its nice NOT to know what you're missing out on. |
Parvovirus is a nasty, nasty virus with a high mortality
in untreated dogs. The majority of victims in Australia are puppies. It can be
costly to treat because affected puppies require lengthy periods of
hospitalisation and intensive care. The irony is that many people who own
affected dogs cannot afford to treat the animals, as they may not have been
able to afford the vaccine which protects against the virus in the first place.
(The issue of economics is a whole can of worms, but
skimping on vaccines is a false economy – if you cannot afford to vaccinate
dogs, you cannot afford to breed them).
It is an awful, painful gastrointestinal condition which
causes haemorrhagic vomiting and diarrhoea, as well as other complications like
intussusceptions and myocarditis. Parvo puppies look absolutely miserable.
Another issue is that parvovirus may affect multiple
animals, for example a whole litter of puppies. Treating multiple animals adds
up.
When I graduated, the consensus was either hospitalise
affected animals, or euthanase. There wasn’t really an alternative. A few years ago I visited The Gateway Animal Clinical in Cleveland which had been treating parvo dogs as outpatients out of necessity.
Colorado
State University veterinarians have developed a protocol for outpatient care of
parvo cases which MAY be helpful in some cases. The protocol is available online.
They are very clear that this is not a replacement for
the gold standard, and note that “Standard of care treatment should be offered
and refusal to follow that protocol documented in the medical record prior to
offering this as an alternative”.
Nonetheless, it may save some dogs. It will still cost
money, and this protocol requires huge commitment on the part of the owner to
nurse and care for the affected puppy or puppies, but it may just get them through it.
One concern in treating dogs with parvovirus as
outpatients is the potential for environmental contamination. Parvovirus
survives in the environment for prolonged periods of time, and can infect other
dogs. It is imperative that all other dogs within and entering that environment
are vaccinated.
The protocol can be found here.
