Some years back, I was undergoing internship program in a veterinary hospital. I witnessed several dogs dying as a result of a disease called canine parvoviral enteritis.

Wikimedia creative common CCO

I never knew what it was because I was in a younger stage in the profession. I never knew it was a disease that kills dogs most. Last month my nephew ran to me complaining bitterly, his lovely pet wasn't doing fine. I moved closer to the kennel to check what was wrong. His dog was down with canine parvoviral enteritis(CPE) too. He looked so confused and I felt pity for him as I could sense the connection he has with the dog. I could also perceive that he wondered at how I knew what was wrong without lingering. Why is this disease so deadly? How did my pet get infected? What made you know it CPE ? Brother, how did u confirm it CPE? Those were his questions.

I knew those questions were out of worry for the dog and deep down in him he would love us to tend to the dog first. Obviously that's the right thing to do. I could have taken up the treatment but I lack the necessary equipment to do so and besides I am not fully trained (well that's for now). We eventually got to know of a veterinary centre nearby and we quickly took the dog there. Knowing that the dog is under care, it was the right time to enlighten him on what happened to the dog. While narating my knowledge of the virus to my cousin, I realised it could help someone else save their dog. For this, I will be walking you through all you need to know about CPE.

Canine parvoviral enteritis is commonly called parvo. As the name implies it is caused by a virus which belong to class canine parvoviral type 2b. It affect puppies(young dogs) mostly but it also affect adult dogs too. Its highly contagious and can be easily spread among dogs. It causes high mortality(death rate) following late diagnosis. Dogs that are mostly affected are the ones that are not vaccinated or those given ineffective vaccine). Parvo occur in digestive(intestinal) form as well as cardiac(affecting heart) form. The later affect muscles of the heart and the heart itself. The former is usually the most common. For this reason my discussion will be more on intestinal form, i will also discuss the cardiac form too. Dear, many people had lost their pets to this devastating disease. The form affecting digestive tract usually affect intestine and stomach. They are both highly contagious.

Concerning how the dog got infected, there are several ways your pet could get infected. It can be either through contact with contaminated faeces, by smelling or licking the faeces.

This virus do not affect humans and other animal species like cat. It affect group of animals called canidae which include dog and wolves. The virus can be in the environment for long persisting. Humans can be carrier too. Also the dog could be infected through direct contact with infected dog. Surprisingly, shoes could serve as carrier. Yes it can! This group of inanimate object are refer to as mechanical transmitters. On the basis of emphasis vaccine from reputable clinical must be use in vaccination to prevent vaccine failure. Now onto what made me knew it was parvo. It's actually many. To start with, vomiting is one thing you can't miss coupled with a very foul smelling faeces. It resembles human cholera. But obviously it isn't. Another sign is the dog will go off feeding, the diarrhoea will as well lead to severe dehydration too. The body temperature will be low. The days between contact with virus and onset of clinical sign is 3 to 14days. Its a must tell I you at this point that there are some breeds of dogs that are mostly affected. The great south African originated breed of dog, rotweiler is very susceptible to parvo. Other breed as well include Doberman,

German Shepherd and also labrador. Though Nigerian local breed does not come down easily with parvo. But they are also susceptible.

It's always paramount that it's diagnosed to confirm the disease. One of the method is through the clinical signs I mentioned earlier. History can as well point to parvo(contact with Infected dog). Laboratory test that can be done also, example include Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA). This is done through using the faecal sample for it. Other methods that can be used include agglutination test with pig red blood cell, immunoassay, nucleic acid amplification method like polymerase chain reaction can be done too...

Dog dies because people don't take some measures into cognizance. These measure aid in prevention of the disease. You must ensure biosecurity is top notch. There is popular saying that "cleanliness kill all infection" Yes! That is true, if the dog environment is clean and good hygiene is taken into consideration the dog won't have such deadly infection. When dogs recover from the infection they usually have immunity against the disease, immunity could be for month or for years. Like I said earlier, it can be prevented though giving of vaccine to both young and adult dogs. The reason this vaccine sometimes fail is interfering disease antibody from dam that interfere with the parvoviral vaccine. Vaccine must be given to puppies after 6 weeks which is usually given in 3 different shot with 2 weeks interval. Also prevent contact with infected faeces, infected dogs and also avoid infected kennel.

U.S airforce photo/Airman 1st class Ashley J Thun

Furthermore, Viral disease don't have specific drug for treatment like bacterial. It is usually managed symptomatically. Fluid administration is paramount because the dog is dehydrated. Also you stimulate the appetite because the animal is off feed. Antibiotics is given due to bacteria that could serve as secondary infection. Also good feed is given, the dog is isolated from other puppies in the kennel. Drugs are also administered to stop the diarrhoea and vomiting.

Like I said earlier there is a second form of parvo called cardiac form (heart related). Many pet owners know about the intestinal form of virus I discussed earlier but very few know about this cardiac form. This heart-related form of parvo usually affect puppies. It has heart-breaking and worrisome effect on the puppies. It is pertinent I tell you this form of parvo is now rare. It was very popular in the 90s. Since the world is now a global village and there are emerging diseases also we have re-emerging disease, there is probability it might occur again. For example, a disease called foot and mouth in cattle is now re-emerging the united states. I can tell you that even many veterinarians don’t actually talk about it perhaps they don’t know anything about it. It is a deadly! Yes I repeat it is deadly! Don’t get it twisted, this doesn’t give room for “play” at all. Lol don’t mind me.
So hope you’re enjoying the gist on parvo. Sure you’re. Based how this heart form is transferred too, though very easy just like its other form. It is transferred from one puppy to another. It is rare form but it is important because it affect the heart of young puppies.

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It is commonly called heart parvo. It is also transmitted by contact with infected faeces of an affected dog. It is also through contact with infected vomitus. It can also be transmitted through vertical method meaning from mother to their offsprings
Briefly on its history, heart parvo first emerge in Europe in the year 1976 and many dogs were affected according to Cornell University. Immediately after two years it became worldwide and it result in inflammation of the heart muscles and other several damages to the heart. Do note that it also cause gastroenteritis (inflammation of the stomach and intestine) just like CPE. The age range of puppies it usually affects is 3-10 weeks old puppies.

Also note that puppies usually die fast even before showing symptoms of this form.
Dr. Lisa said

Myocarditis due to parvo in literature, is an infection of the heart that a puppy would get if they are diagnosed in first week of life. Most specialist in heart(veterinary cardiologist) would tell you they haven't come across parvo been a cause of a heart problem. It really pass and "historical" thing. It's is not recent years. Rephrased by me(@tundevet)

Source

Do note that this heart parvo also cause dyspnea (difficulty in breathing). Do know that puppies heart will definitely be small, so what do we expect from such heart after inflammation? Your guess is right! It will definitely fail (congestive form). There is also oedema of the lungs (many fluids inside the lungs). Usually the puppy affected stop taking milk from dam, straining for air (due to dyspnea) and also the membrane below the eyes becomes paper white and later bluish and puppy dies either after some times or immediately.
It won’t be nice not talking about heart parvo treatment. Can you imagine a disease having all these mentioned above and you believe it can be treated? You know what, outcome of this form of parvo is grim. According to some reports, it is written that some puppies survived when steroid was given to reduce the myocarditis. Puppies that proved to “survive” dies after few months just because the heart is damaged during the parvo infection.
Like you know I like hammering on how to prevent a dog from coming down with a disease, this is not left out. Like I said earlier, “cleanliness is killer of all disease”. Ensure there is thorough cleaning of the environment and where puppies stay. It can also be through keeping them in an isolated area and keeping them away from other dogs. Also your vaccination must be top notch like I usually emphasized

In conclusion,

All preventive measures must be taken to combact the 2 forms of this disease. For every pet it a must we prevent parvo especially CPE.
Cardiac form of parvovirus is rare now. We hope it remain disease of the past and shouldn't re-emerge.
When CPE is diagnosed late the prognosis( outcome of a disease aafter treatment) is usually poor.
Also vaccination of dogs is very important so as to prevent the disease. Vaccination should be done by a veterinarian. Consult veterinarian regularly if there are other symptoms or you notice any signs. Your pet health is important!
Thanks for visiting my blog.

Reference
Greene Craig E. Infectious disease of Dog and Cat(fourth edition)

Dvm360: treatment of parvoviral enteritis

Reach vet: parvovirus

Pet place: parvoviral enteritis

Parvoviral enteritis

Pet medicine: canine parvoviral enteritis

Dogs health: cardiac parvo in puppies

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