Parvo surge raises alarm

The Pilbara is facing one of the highest spikes in cases of canine parvovirus infection of the past 40 years, according to Pilbara veterinarian Rick Fenny.

The outbreak has prompted Dr Fenny to urge local pet owners to vaccinate their dogs against parvovirus.

"There has been a huge surge in parvo cases recently at our North West practices in Karratha, South Hedland, Tom Price, Newman and Exmouth," he said.

"We have had half a dozen dogs on drips in isolation in Karratha Vet hospital and I've lost two puppies out in Onslow this week alone.

"It seems to be a more lethal strain of parvo than I have seen in previous years, which is really concerning us."

Signs of parvovirus include severe vomiting, loss of appetite and bloody, foul-smelling diarrhoea which can lead to life-threatening dehydration.

Dogs that become infected with the virus and show clinical signs will usually become ill within 7 to 10 days of the initial infection.

Exmouth Vet Clinic nurse Shayne Carter said their clinic received their first-ever recorded case of parvovirus last week in an unvaccinated pup.

"This puppy was brought down from Onslow and was sick for three days before it died," she said.

"Our clinic is definitely not set up to cope with isolation cases like parvovirus. We will have to send pups up to Karratha in the future because we simply don't have the facilities."

Newman vet Lucy Van Der Weide said their practice had received almost 100 cases in the last 18 months.

She said all of those cases involved dogs which had either not been fully vaccinated or not received any vaccinations at all.

"The Pilbara is a high-risk area for a number of reasons; the environmental conditions are favourable for the survival of the virus, there is a large population of unvaccinated community and wild dogs and a large population of susceptible puppies," she said.

"We have had great success with treatment of these cases; with aggressive treatment we can report around 80 per cent survival rates, although it does come at significant costs.

"The main message we want to get out is parvovirus is so easily preventable if people keep their dogs vaccinations up-to-date."

"It's simple - vaccinations save lives."

Puppies should receive a course of three vaccinations at six, 10 and 14 weeks of age.

Importantly, all dogs then need annual boosters to keep them protected from the virus.

Dr Fenny said any dog displaying symptoms of the parvovirus needed to be taken to the nearest vet hospital to go into isolation care.

"Our vet hospitals can properly treat animals in isolation facilities, which is very important to prevent the virus spreading through the local dog population," he said

"The virus is highly contagious and is spread from dog to dog or by any person or object through direct or indirect contact with the dog's faeces.

"It is important to properly disinfect contaminated areas around the home by cleaning food bowls, water bowls, and other contaminated items with a solution of 250mL of chlorine bleach in 5 litres of water."

For further information, visit http://petsandvetswa.com.au or phone 9185 1600.