(Ron Quaroni/paNOW Staff)

By Ian Gustafson

Vaccination is Key

Parvovirus prevalent in Prince Albert

Oct 25, 2019 | 2:00 PM

The canine parvovirus is a rising concern in Prince Albert according to a local veterinarian.

It is a highly contagious virus that affects dogs and can be fatal if not handled the proper way.

“We’re seeing a huge increase in the number of cases in parvovirus,” said Dr. Peter Surkan, a veterinarian at Park Range Veterinary Services. “And being close to the north and so many litters of puppies being brought in through different rescue organizations it’s a really fatal preventable viral disease.”

He said it affects the digestive track of the immune system or the bone marrow of young developing puppies.

“It is something that anybody who’s got their owns pups to make darn sure that they’re vaccinating properly because it is totally preventable,” he said. “For whatever reason this last month here we’ve seen probably between five and 10 new cases every week, which is really disheartening.”

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He also advised anyone who has a new canine friend to refrain from going to public parks or having any contact with other animals until the dog is vaccinated. They should have three sets of shots within the first year at eight weeks, 12 weeks, and 16 weeks of age.

“It’s just imperative that all puppies get their vaccines,” Surkan said. “The immunity doesn’t happen right at the time of needle , the body always has a lag phase in trying to develop immunity against these viruses.”

The disease is passed on by fecal-to-mouth contamination where one other dog has either vomited or has a loose stool which is full of viral particles. The virus can survive in the environment through freezing temperatures. The vet will also test the puppy for the virus through their stool.

“These puppies walk into a contaminated area and pick it up and spread it through their litter mates very quickly,” he said. “It’s something that is always there but right now the incidents for whatever reason is very high.”

SPCA manager Ashley Bober told paNOW they’ve had puppies come in with cases of the parvovirus too.

“We have had a large quantity of puppies that have parvo and I know right now we currently have three of them in our dog isolation room battling parvo,” Bober said. “Over the last two and a half months we have consistently at least have one puppy in our quarantine.”

She noted they’d seen a higher number of cases since the beginning of summer. When a dog has the virus, they will have a hard time keeping food down and will get dehydrated, so she said they give them antibiotics and fluids to bring them back to health. But it is not easy to cure the virus and could take weeks to get over.

Bober said it’s not only passed through physical contact through two dogs and a human could also pass it over if they somehow pick it up from handling a dog with the virus. However, humans can’t actually get sick from it.

Bober reiterated the importance of vaccinating new puppies.

“If you do not treat parvo it is deadly. Puppies and even adult dogs, if they’re not vaccinated and they get a bad case of parvo without proper treatment, they will not survive,” she said. “And you can prevent all that pain and suffering that they go through with this illness.”

She said the parvovirus is always around and even though they’ve seen more cases than usual this summer and fall, they do see it every year.

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Ian.gustafson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @iangustafson12