Dog Parvo Cardiac Infection Causes and Symptoms
The cardiac form of dog parvo is the least common form, and the most deadly. The virus directly attacks the muscles of the heart, then blood vessels, leading to hemorrhaging.
This form is not passed orally, but usually infect puppies in utero or shortly after birth. Unfortunately, it is hard to catch and sometimes there no symptoms at all before the puppy dies suddenly. The only thing to watch out for is difficulty breathing, but by then it might be too late. The obvious signs of the intestinal form are often missing with this type of infection.
Thankfully, widespread vaccination of breeding dogs has cut the occurrences of this form so it’s not something you should be worried about. You have a better chance of being struck by lightening. Better to be on the lookout for the symptoms of the intestinal strain.
Dog Parvo Intestinal Infection Causes and Symptoms
The intestinal form of dog parvo is the most common form. It’s contracted orally through infected feces, soil, etc.
After ingestion, the lymphatic system serves as the replicating point for the virus, particularly around the throat. The bloodstream is then infected, and the virus begins attacking other lymphatic cells, the intestines, and bone marrow.
This causes weakening of the intestinal tissue, and so the separation begins to deteriorate, severely affecting digestion. Bacteria normally contained in the intestines is then allowed to flood the bloodstream, causing more problems.
Three or four days later, the virus will be in the dog’s feces, and this is when you can really notice the smell. If you wait this long before realizing the truth, however, it might be too late.
The dog parvo symptoms to look for in this case are the usual: vomiting, bloody diarrhea, and lethargy.
Get your dog to a vet immediately.
Dog Parvo Symptoms
If your dog, especially your new puppy, begins exhibiting any of these symptoms, see a veterinarian right away. When parvo is involved, every hour counts. The secret of survival is quick treatment, so don’t ignore these symptoms! One or all of these will usually being showing after 3 - 10 days of infection.
- Lethargic. If your dog normally likes to play and has high energy, this is the clearest sign that something is wrong. You could say they act depressed.
- Lack of Appetite. The more common strains attack the digestive system.
- Vomiting with no change in diet. It usually looks clear and foamy.
- Bloody Diarrhea.
- Stronger Feces Odor. It’s unmistakable and you will never forget it.
The vomiting and diarrhea are the most dangerous, as they can quickly lead to dehydration and malnutrition. This leads to other problems that eventually compound on top of each other to finally kill the dog. And fast.
Always be on the lookout these symptoms of parvo, especially if your puppy is over 10 weeks old.
Background of Dog Parvo
If you’re like us, you probably fell in love with your puppy the very first time you looked at his/her tiny face. It’s hard to imagine anything happening to them.
Dog parvo, short for parvovirus, is one of the most serious illness a dog can contract, and it’s is especially deadly in puppies. And it’s highly contagious. It can jump from dog to dog very quickly, even with indirect contact.
First discovered in the late 1970’s, it’s similar in structure to the feline parvovirus, differing by only two amino acids. It effects most types of canids, including wolves and foxes. 2 strands are the most common, but a third strand has supposedly been discovered in Italy, Vietnam, and Spain.
There are two types of infection of parvo a dog can acquire, intestinal or cardiac, and the severity varies greatly. Some dogs show no symptoms, yet die within 72 hours. More commonly, in less volatile strains, the mortality rate is just 10%.
Along with contact with other infected dogs, parvo can get caught from oral ingestion of infected feces or soil. Other animals may also be carriers, even if they themselves cannot be affected by the virus. It has a high climate tolerance, and so can survive in almost any condition, shrugging off sunlight and moisture.
Dog parvo partly causes so many problems, even with modern veterinary medicine, because it has a high rate of evolution, unlike the feline variety. It mimics RNA virus like influenza. New vaccines have to be developed for the flu every year because of the changes, and parvo is no different.
Fortunately, a dog who survives a parvo infection is generally immune for life, similar to our chicken pox, so no silent carrier dogs exist.
References
This material was taken from http://dogparvosymptoms.net/.
