Just a few weeks ago,
Dr. Jean Dodds, one of the country’s few animal hematologists, helped treat Oprah Winfrey’s puppy Ivan when he fell ill from the deadly virus
parvo. Unfortunately, the little guy didn’t make it, and the TV host’s other cocker spaniel puppy, Sadie, is still recovering from the scary, highly infectious disease. The most common form of parvo is the intestinal form, parvo virus enteritis, which causes severe vomiting and diarrhea, and is often deadly. So, how many dogs are at risk of contracting parvo? Vaccine expert
Dr. Ron Schultz of the University of Wisconsin, calculates about 1 in 500 dogs get Parvo, half of those show symptoms and about 25-50% of symptomatic dogs die. With about 75 million dogs in the US, that translates to about 37,000 dogs dying each year.
Dr. Jean Dodds and Dr. Ron Schultz offered up some tips on how to protect your dogs from getting infected:
Get puppies vaccinated twice, once before 12 weeks and once between 14 and 16 weeks. Later, get a titer test to see if enough the antibodies are in your dog’s system. If you’re walking in areas where there might be dog poop, consider washing the bottom of your shoes with a solution of one part bleach and 10 parts water. Parvo is hard to kill otherwise. During the first outbreak of Parvo in the 1970s, people would strip down to avoid spreading the disease on their clothes, she says. It’s important for immunity to socialize your puppy, but do it in your house or yard with a dog you know, Dr. Dodd's says. “The pampered dog who lives on the 40th floor on a cushion in la-la-land is going to be more vulnerable,” Dodds adds. No matter what you do, puppies go through a “window of vulnerability,” she says. That’s because the mother’s milk protects against the disease, but also the shots. For two to four weeks the milk will block the vaccines, but not the disease. Each puppy’s window of vulnerability is different because it depends on how immune the mother was and how much milk the puppy got. Carol Vinzant
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