DOG owners are being urged to ensure their animals are immunised against the deadly canine disease parvovirus after a recent outbreak in the Maribyrnong municipality.
The Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) issued the warning for the disease, a contagious virus spread from dog to dog by physical contact and contact with faece. It can be especially severe in puppies.
Maribyrnong Veterinary Clinic’s Dr Caitlin Horwood, who has worked in the Maribyrnong/Essendon area for many years, said she usually only sees one confirmed case a year, but she recently saw two confirmed cases in Maribyrnong in the space of one week.
AVA Victorian president Dr Roslyn Nichol said veterinarians around a localised region of western Melbourne had reported seeing a small number of dogs which required treatment and were concerned about the potential for a disease outbreak.
“Parvovirus is a highly infectious disease that affects mainly young dogs and is often fatal in puppies, but any dog may develop the disease,” Dr Nichol said.
“We are particularly concerned, because we do not usually see many cases of parvovirus at this time of year.
“Dogs that have not recently been vaccinated are at risk of contracting this very unpleasant disease which is difficult to treat.”
“If owners notice symptoms of bloody diarrhoea, vomiting, loss of appetite and depression in their dog, they should take them to their veterinarian immediately.
“Affected animals often require intensive treatment in hospital. If any contact has been made with an infected case, owners should seek veterinary advice,” Dr Nichol said.
Dr Horwood said along with the two confirmed parvovirus cases reported in the space of one week recently, there were about six gastro type cases at the Maribyrnong Veterinary Clinic.
She said such outbreaks could be the result of owners simply forgetting to vaccinate their dogs against the disease.
Dr Horwood said while warm weather was not directly linked to parvovirus outbreaks, the recent good weather encouraged owners to take dogs out for walks, where they could come in contact with parvovirus-infected faeces.
She said there was also a danger in moving dogs into a new environment where new owners were unaware if there had been parvovirus cases.
“People don’t realise how long the virus can last in the environment (nine months or more),” Dr Horwood said.
The main prevention and control measure for parvovirus is immunisation.
Puppies should start their vaccination program at six to eight weeks followed by their adult vaccine at 12 to 14 weeks.
All dogs should have a yearly veterinary check and booster vaccination as recommended by their veterinarian.
