Parvo Outbreak - Victoria

[Jessca]

I have heard a bit of the outbreak of parvo in victoria the last day or two.

does anyone know what areas, roughly, have been infected??

it seems to be spreading quite rapidly, from what i've heard. so if anyone knows of any of the areas in vic (or any other state) that have been affected could they please post it up.

thanks everyone, any help will be greatly appreciated. and hopefully we can help to stop any more doggies catching it.

MissyMoo, i hope hef gets better real soon.

[InspectorRex]

Yes this would be great information to have.

[Jessca]

has no one got any info

maybe i should request to get this topic moved to general??

[pointernuts]

have you rang Vic Dogs ? I will tomorrow for sure !

[puggy_puggy]

Will ask my vet when I am there tonight.

[claireybell]

I've just spoken to my vet, firstly because I had no idea what parvo was. Now I do and luckily my dogs are fully vaccinated. She did say that there has been one case reported at Karingal Vets which is located in Frankston, South East suburbs of Melbourne.

Question though, even though my dogs are vaccinated are still able to pick this nasty disease up?

[Missymoo]

My dog didn't get it in Victoria but NSW, Erskine Park...I havnt heard of it being in Victoria at all?? Plus my dogs didn't show or were only in my backyard since I got back, so I havn't unknowingly spread it either (I also have shoes I use only in the backyard and with the dogs...)

Also my older vaccinated more then once (over the years) seem to have an immunity to it, they are 2, 4, 6 and 7 years of age. I think age places a factor as well...I am still giving them protexin and slippery elm supplements to boost their immune systems as well.

Edited December 1, 2008 by Missymoo

[poochmad]

I'd like to know this too. Henschke's a bit off the weather - he's been vomiting and has diarrareah (however you spell it). If he's not better by the morning, we'll be taking him to the vet.

When you hear about a parvo outbreak and your dog is unwell, you can't help but wonder...

[Cockerlover]

poochmad if hes lathergic ,vomiting & dioreah (sp)I personally wouldnt be waiting till morning .

[puggy_puggy]

Just back from my vet and he said he hasn't heard of a case and hasn't had a case this year, now is supposed to be the season for it We live in the eastern burbs of Melbourne.

He also said that it is almost unheard of in dogs that are fully vaccinated.

From my knowledge it is something that is seen alot in pound situations, ie lots of unvaccinated dogs coming together. and also most prevalant in puppies that have not had their full vaccinations.

I am wondering if there has been an outbreak after this NSW dogs show if there is a link to breeders/show people being less inclined to vaccinate after two of the three puppy needles, ie therefore dogs aren't theoretically fully vaccinated. (Yes I know the debate on vaccinations and over vaccinating)

[poochmad]

poochmad if hes lathergic ,vomiting & dioreah (sp)I personally wouldnt be waiting till morning .

After talking to the lady who looked after him (she's puppy sitting until we bring his buddy home), she did comment that he's eaten her plants so it could be that. It's a bit hard to tell if he's lethargic as he's been running around all day playing with another dog. I'll monitor him throughout the night. If he looks like he's detoriating I will rush him to the emergency vet.

[Missymoo]

poochmad, Hef was still trying to play with my old maltese that afternoon, then just got more and more 'mopey' please keep an eye on your boy...It was NSW that he contracted this virus..

[poocow]

Yeah if hes really out of it and vomitting I would take him to the vets.

I don't take this advice myself as my dog is a vomit machine

[Flaves]

Well this now brings us to the question do i risk going to the show this weekend?

Those that showed at Spring Fair and then came back to Melbourne and showed last weekend may have unwittingly spread it.

(NOT aimed at MM)

[Trisven13]

What - no parvo in Victoria at all???? I'm not trying to be rude but I would doubt that.

There is a definite link between parvo and suburbs of a lower socio-economic standing in the same there is a link with desexing (or lack thereof) in those areas.

In my experience parvo exists lots of places and is brought out by the weather. We haven't had any parvo through Albury Pound in over 10 months BUT I know that there has been parvo around Albury recently and a pup died of it in Bright (which is in Victoria) a couple of weeks ago.

I don't know the Melbourne suburbs well enough to comment but is it possible that those areas in which you're asking about parvo are of a higher socio-economic standing? If so there is generally less parvo in those areas due to increased vaccinations.

ETA - there is no point being overly paranoid about parvo. Like all other terrible things that can happen to our dogs it is best we take sensible precautions, vaccinate our dogs, feed them a quality healthy diet and not deliberately expose them to harmful situations (ie somewhere where you know there has been a dog with parvo). Be careful, do not be paranoid.

Edited December 1, 2008 by Trisven13

[puggy_puggy]

What - no parvo in Victoria at all???? I'm not trying to be rude but I would doubt that.

I don't know the Melbourne suburbs well enough to comment but is it possible that those areas in which you're asking about parvo are of a higher socio-economic standing? If so there is generally less parvo in those areas due to increased vaccinations.

No parvo in my area I think my vet was meaning.

And yes my vet did comment that when he first started out many years ago he worked around the Dandenong/Doveton area for a while (classed as a lower socio-economic standing area) and he said that people are less likely to vaccinate in that area and they had wards and wards of puppies with parvo.

[Jessca]

thanks everyone for your input, its good to hear that there arn't many cases in VIC.

after my last dobie got it and was brought back twice(yes he died three times in his lifetime, RIP my boy, you'll forever live on in our hearts) im get a bit worried when i hear of it. not for my dogs, but for everyone elses, i dont want people to have to go through what we did.

with the socio - economic thing, we had our dogs in Boronia and they were fine, my boy caught it when we moved near the city, Coburg, thats not really a lower classed area is it??

the problem is it can live in the ground for a very long time -

Parvovirus is resistant to extremes of temperature (i.e., it survives freezing and extreme heat) and is unharmed by detergents, alcohol, and common disinfectants. Direct transmission occurs when an infected dog comes in contact with a healthy dog. The virus is found in heavy concentration in the infected dog’s stool. Because dogs will usually sniff where another dog has eliminated, this fecal-oral transmission is the most common method of transmission. The virus particles can be easily spread by hands, shoes, clothing, or other inanimate objects (fomites)—this is an indirect source of transmission.

As many as 30 billion parvovirus particles can be shed from the intestines of an infected dog in every ounce of stool. The highest concentration of virus in the stool is seen when the infected dog is showing signs of illness. A dog can, however, be a source of infection to other dogs without it having observable signs of illness (the disease may be incubating). Transmission can occur for at least 3 weeks after a dog becomes infected with the virus. Chronic “carriers” are not known to exist as in other viral diseases. Parvovirus in the environment can infect susceptible dogs for as long as 6 months once shed in the stool.

for people worried that they may have it -

Clinical signs include vomiting, fever, loss of appetite, depression, and bloody diarrhea with a very foul odor. Infected animals rapidly dehydrate and severe cases progress to shock and death. Early, vigorous treatment of illness caused by canine parvovirus infection can save lives.

sorry for all the quotes, i have heaps more (about 30-40 word pages) as i did a project on it for Biology.

for anyone worried about going near an infected area, i was told (this was in relivence to Canine Cough though) to give my dogs two to three teaspoons of Active Manuka Honey, with the highest + rating you can find, as this boosts the dogs amune system.

thanks again everyone.

[Falling_dawn]

there is a gastro bug going around In SE Berbs victoria that lasts about 7-10 days funny thing is it that time of year when people get it but I have heard of at least 5 dogs in diffrent areas all within the SE suberbs that have been Vacc and all have gone to the vet not parvo dog running around as pr normal but watery poo

Areas Bayswater, Ringwood, Croydon, Knox , Richmond

eddited to add theses dogs have never met as this is from people I work with unless us people are carryers I have no idea if that is even possable

Edited December 1, 2008 by Falling_dawn

[poochmad]

poochmad, Hef was still trying to play with my old maltese that afternoon, then just got more and more 'mopey' please keep an eye on your boy...It was NSW that he contracted this virus..

Hi MM - he has perked up. He's eaten his food and is a lot better.

Can your dog still get parvo if vaccinated? He's 6 months old. We are meant to be going to a show this weekend - in Canberra, but many people would have gone to the Spring Fair would be going to this one.

[Dogsfevr]

Dogs can still get parvo even though they are vacc