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Dr. Beth Vesco-Mock

Then last week the El Paso Veterinary Medical Association issued a press release addressing a massive fall outbreak of parvo in the Southwest, specifically El Paso.

I have seen an increase here at the Animal Service Center of the MesillaValley in the past two weeks. I have spoken with local veterinary clinics here in Las Cruces and two of them said they are seeing new parvo cases every day. Therefore, I have decided to use my little corner of the newspaper to educate dog owners on what parvo is and how easily it can be prevented.

Parvovirus is a viral disease of dogs. It affects puppies much more frequently than it affects adult dogs because they have immature immune systems. The virus likes to grow in rapidly dividing cells. The intestinal lining has the biggest concentration of rapidly dividing cells in a puppy's body so that is where the virus likes to live.

What are the normal symptoms of parvo?

The big three are vomiting, foul-smelling diarrhea, and lethargy. Symptoms usually begin with a high fever, lethargy, depression, and loss of appetite. Secondary symptoms appear as severe gastrointestinal distress, such as vomiting and

How is this virus transmitted?

Canine parvovirus is carried by dogs. Any adult dog can be a carrier whether they are showing clinical signs or not. In other words, you should consider every dog as a potential carrier. Generally, it takes seven to 10 days from the time of exposure for dogs and puppies to start showing symptoms and to test positive for parvo. Parvo is highly contagious to unprotected dogs, and the virus can remain infectious in ground contaminated with fecal material for years in the correct conditions. Parvo is an extremely hardy virus that most disinfectants cannot kill. Chlorine bleach is the most effective and inexpensive agent that works. It is easy to transmit parvo on the soles of shoes, hands, clothing, etc. Therefore, dogs/puppies can contract parvo without ever leaving their yards.

Parvo, despite what you might hear, is not an airborne virus. It is excreted in the feces of infected dogs, and if someone - human, dog, bird, etc. - steps in (or otherwise comes in contact with) the excrement, the possibility for contamination is great. Some people speculate that birds invading a dog's food dish can deposit the parvovirus there. If you think you may have come in contact with parvovirus, a strong solution of bleach and water does kill the virus, so you can wash your shoes and clothes, even your hands with it, to reduce the risk of infecting your dog. Rest assured that parvovirus is specific to dogs alone and cannot be transmitted to humans or other pets of a different species, such as cats.

More here:
Parvovirus is a killer of puppies in Doña Ana County