Talk show host Oprah Winfrey has brought attention to the issue of canine Parvovirus - an illness that every Boston area dog owner should take measures to prevent.
Oprah recently lost her Cocker Spaniel puppy Ivan to Parvo. Oprah's second puppy Sadie, Ivan's littermate, has also been diagnosed with Parvo and the dog continues to fight for her life.
It's believed that the two Cocker Spaniel puppies caught Parvo while staying at the PAWS animal shelter in Chicago. Animal shelters, kennels, doggy daycares and other locations where multiple dogs congregate create the perfect setting for the spread of Parvo.
A dog -- puppies especially -- can contract Parvo if they come in contact with feces from an infected dog. Parvo can live in feces and on surfaces for nearly six months, which only highlights the need to disinfect kennels, toys, bedding and any other items in a kennel, animal shelter or other similar setting.
What Are the Symptoms of Parvo?
Parvo most often targets the lining of a puppy's intestines. As a result, a puppy that's sick with Parvo will have symptoms like severe diarrhea (often, bloody diarrhea), dehydration, lethargy and weight loss.
Puppies with Parvo can sometimes die of sudden heart failure. Parvovirus targets areas where new cells are produced at a fast rate; a young puppy's heart is one place where these cells are replicating. The virus infects the heart muscle and the dog will die as a result of the effect of Parvo on the heart.
Puppies are more prone to Parvo, in part because their bodies are a powerhouse of new cell development due to the puppy's growth and development. Puppies also have a weaker immune system and young puppies are less apt to be vaccinated for Parvo.
Preventing Parvovirus in Puppies and Adult Dogs
The most effective way to prevent Parvo involves getting a Parvo vaccination. Puppies should be vaccinated for the first time at 6 weeks of age; subsequent Parvo vaccinations should be administered every three to four weeks until the age of 20 weeks.
Adult dogs should also receive the Parvo vaccine, which is included in the annual DHLPP (Distemper, Hepatitis, Leptospirosis, Parainfluenza and Parvovirus) vaccination.
Notably, no dog is immune to Parvo. Even vaccinated dogs can contract Parvo; vaccinated dogs simply have a much lower chance of contracting this deadly dog virus. Like all viruses, Parvo evolves and changes into new strains that the vaccine does not protect against. As new strains of Parvo emerge, scientists must identify the new strain and then develop a vaccine to protect against that particular form of Parvo.
Dog owners should always seek out clean animal shelters, kennels, doggy daycares, etc., where surfaces and kennels are regularly disinfected and sick dogs are isolated from the general population. Any concerns should be addresed with shelter staff, kennel staff or doggy daycare staff.
Boston Area Veterinary Clinics That Treat Dogs With Parvo
If a dog owner suspects that a puppy has Parvo, emergency veterinary attention is required as a dog can quickly succumb to this virus.
To learn more about 24-hour emergency veterinary clinics in the Boston area, check out this article by the Boston Pets Examiner.
To learn more about Parvovirus, check out this article on Parvo and Oprah's recent loss of her puppy to this deadly virus.
Source: John Yates, Parvo Claims Oprah's Rescue Puppy
Comments
Shelters are tough places related to disease, especially with shelters in Mass. trucking and flying in strays from other states, offshore islands and countries. Currently imported shelter dogs have to be quarantied for 48 hours but that often isn't enough to guarantee the animals are disease free. Transported shelter dogs coming from the South in trucks can easily spread diseases like Parvo to other dogs in the truck. Since there is an incubation period, they can also pass out of quarantine before it is apparent they are sick. Sorry for Oprah but if she had made an effort to get her dog from a small careful homebased breeder she might have had a better chance of getting a healthy dog. Parvo is a terrible disease with high mortality rate.
Here, here Lucy. That is the problem. Instead of going to a responsible breeder, she bought from a HSUS supported facility that has just built a new one for several million dollars that reports say will only house 20 animals. All that space to ensure their comfort and health, and yet this "shelter" had not vaccinated their puppies. Oprah's dogs was way over the recommened age for the first vaccination. This is her second mistake, having in the past bought three Goldens from a pups for bucks breeder.
I encourage anyone looking for a dog to do their research on breeders AND shelters. Never buy a purebred without a contract that clearly spells out your responsibility and theirs. And never adopt from a shelter unless you are personally satisfied with the hygeine, the conditions, and the records of veterinary care for the animal you would like to take home.
People who are concerned about the health of their pets should read the latest international guidelines for dog and cat vaccination.
In 2007 the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) published Dog and Cat Vaccination Guidelines (built on the US AAHA (Canine) and AAFP (Feline) guidelines) for global application.
Type: WSAVA Dog and Cat Vaccination Guidelines
into your search engine to find the guidelines
Type: WSAVA to find the Home website.
The WSAVA guidelines include a number of significant statements:
• We should aim to vaccinate every animal, and to vaccinate each individual less frequently. (p. 2)
• …we should aim to reduce the 'vaccine load' on individual animals in order to minimise the potential for adverse reactions to vaccine products. (p. 3)
• Vaccines should not be given needlessly. Core vaccines should not be given any more frequently than every three years after the 12 month booster injection following the puppy/kitten series. (p. 2)
• In the case of dogs, the Fact Sheets of the WSAVA guidelines note that duration of immunity after vaccination with MLV vaccines is 7 years or longer, based on challenge and serological studies, for Canine Parvovirus Type 2 (CPV-2), Canine Adenovirus (CAV-2) and Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) vaccines. (pp. 15-17)
In regards to duration of immunity, Professor Ronald Schultz, an expert in immunology and a member of the WSAVA Vaccination Guidelines Group, notes:
"I believe that dogs and cats vaccinated as puppies and kittens should be revaccinated at 1 year of age with the vaccines used earlier. After that I do not believe there is an immunologic need to revaccinate annually with CDV, CPV-2, CAV-2..." (Ref: Current and future canine and feline vaccination programs. Veterinary Medicine, March 1998, 233-254).
In an article published in August 1995 (14 years ago...), Professor Schultz stated:
"I don't think there is a need to vaccinate adult dogs, since early vaccination will be sufficient to stimulate memory cells." (Ref: Are we vaccinating too much? Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Vol 207, No. 4, 421-425, August 15, 1995).
If your vet sends you an annual reminder to have your adult dog revaccinated with the core MLV vaccines for parvovirus, adenovirus and distemper, challenge him. The latest scientifically based guidelines state that it is not necessary for adult dogs to have these vaccinations every year of their life. It is of no benefit and actually puts the dog needlessly at risk of an adverse reaction.
I learned this the hard way when my dog (Sasha - an eight year old Maltese x Silky terrier) became very sick with what was diagnosed as "haemorrhagic gastroenteritis" eight days after her last unnecessary revaccination with core MLV vaccines (C5 booster). It is very interesting to note that "haemorrhagic gastroenteritis" seems to have the same symptoms as parvovirus… My dog had six annual boosters during her life, most of which were unnecessary, and needlessly put her at risk of an adverse reaction. Sasha is now dead, put to sleep four days after the visible onset of her illness. The veterinarian who vaccinated her refused to consider her illness (and subsequent death) might have been caused or influenced by the vaccination. I now have to make an "adverse event" report myself.
I have been researching this subject since Sasha's death last September and I am shocked by what I have discovered. Australia is way behind on this issue. A culture of unnecessary and possibly harmful annual over-vaccination with core MLV vaccines has become entrenched. The US is moving towards triennial revaccination, but I understand, like annual vaccination, there is no scientific basis for this.
The whole system is weighted against acknowledging and reporting delayed reactions that might have been caused by vaccination. According to a paper by an expert in this area, Dr Jean Dodds, vaccination reactions can occur up to 45 days later, or even longer. (Ref: Vaccination Protocols for Dogs Predisposed to Vaccine Reactions. Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association, May/June 2001, Vol 37, pp 211-214.)
Who knows how many other people's pets have gotten sick or died a week, a month or even longer after a revaccination and they haven't made the connection that the revaccination could have been at fault? The veterinarians aren't likely to mention it are they? It might impact on their income... The WSAVA guidelines make the point that adverse events are grossly under-reported. (p. 8). So dogs and cats can end up with chronic illnesses, or even die, and the pet owners would never know that over-vaccination may have been the cause – a case of veterinarians "burying their mistakes". If I hadn't decided to do some research after Sasha died, I wouldn't have found out about this. Sasha would have been just another unknown and uncared for statistic. I also am in touch with other concerned people who believe their pets were similarly affected.
As more and more people discover that there are veterinarians who are actually putting their beloved pets needlessly at risk with unnecessary over-vaccination with core MLV vaccines, there is likely to be a significant backlash against the veterinary profession.
Those veterinarians who value the integrity of their profession need to address this untenable situation and work to ensure that the unethical practice of unnecessary over-vaccination is ceased immediately. This scandal has been going on for years and scientifically based information on duration of immunity has been withheld from pet owners.
Read the WSAVA Dog and Cat Vaccination Guidelines and decide for yourself, including the Fact Sheets (Appendices) from page 15 onwards. Note, the WSAVA Guidelines are built on the AAHA (Canine) and AAFP (Feline) Guidelines.
People should be informed before they make the decision to revaccinate their pets. There are serious - and unnecessary - risks involved with over-vaccination.
1) shots do not protect a pup until all are completed and the pups are past 16 weeks of age
2) I see no reason a puppymill dog becomes less of a risk to own just because it has passed through a shelter on its way to an owner
3) stress triggers illness in pups - IMO Oprah's handling of that pup on tv was the action of an irresponsible owner
4) do we even know this is true? I've only seen one source for this info ...
Did anyone at the Examiner bother to check this story for accuracy? There is no other major news outlet anywhere in the world reporting that Oprah's puppy died. Either the Examiner got this story way ahead of anyone else, or the Examiner got duped by someone!
Parvo is very serious and contagious. All the dogs on the show would be exposed as well as the audience bringing it home to their pets. PAWS is an irresponsible group. Vaccinations should have been done. It is sad for the dogs and those infected. Note also PAWS exaggerates a lot. On the website featuring Oprah's expose they claim a lab was forced to have over 1000 puppies. Do the math if the dog had the max of 2 litters a year and had 12 puppies she would have to be over 42 years of age. There are great local rescues and this is not one. Second the laws PAWS is trying to get through Chicago are ridiculous
I am a veterinarian and want to correct some the many misconceptions that people have posted on this site. It saddens me that Oprah's dog may have died, but it saddens me more to see the plethora of misinformaton that people are spreading regarding parvo, shelter medicine, vaccinations, etc.
First off, people that criticize the shelter's lack of expertise in managing theses situation should spend a week or even a day in one. Yes, the dogs that Oprah adopted are a sad reminder of what could happen to shelter animals, but there is a sad reality to why it can happen. Shelters are overrun with abandoned and relinquished animals. Especially with the economy in shambles, many families are forced to give up their family pet in order to feed their families. As such, dogs in shelters do not have the luxury of having 2-3 weeks in quarantine, because 5-10 more dogs are waiting outside to take their place. Most shelters are lucky that they can offer a week of quarantine to newly acquired pets. It is easy for a "responsible" breeder to criticize such a situation, but be aware that they do not have people beating down their doors asking for them to take unwanted pets off their hands.
I also see no evidence that Oprah's dogs were never vaccinated. I would assume they are treated like those that come through the shelter I volunteer at. All puppies entering the shelter that I work at are Parvo tested at arrival. If negative, they are vaccinated immediately. However, we still see outbreaks for many reasons:
1)if an animal is not shedding virus, they can have a negative test but still have Parvo. If not quarantined for 2-3 weeks, it is possible for some pets to get adopted, then become ill. As stated, quarantine for this long is nearly impossible due to demand for space.
2)Vaccinations do not treat illness. They only PREVENT it from being acquired. If an animal has a virus at time of vaccination it will not help ward off the illness, and it is even possible that the vaccine can further weaken the immune system and make the animal sicker. This is very likely the case for Oprah's dogs.
3) Puppy boosters are not effective at establishing immunity against Parvo or distemper until multiple boosters are administered.
4)Stresses such as travel, a new home, going on national television in front of hundred of screaming woman, etc. can trigger onset of symptoms that were not previously obvious.
5) Not all Parvo strains are the same. As stated correctly in the article above, Parvo vaccine does not protect against all strains of the disease. In fact, there is a newer, and deadlier, strain that is making its way across the US. The vaccine may not protect against it, and initial tests on stool may yield negative test. The new strain is called CPV-2C
As for vaccinations:
the AAHA and WSAVA guidelines are the most current recommendations. They recommend vaccinating dogs at 8 weeks for core viruses (distemper, parvo, and adenovirus)at 8 weeks with boosters every 3-4 weeks until a minimum of 15 weeks of age. After 1 year, they recommend a 3 year protocol for these and Rabies.
Anyone that reads Dr Dodds' guidelines should know that the veterinary industry widely disputes and discounts her claims that vaccines do not have to be boostered after 1 year. In truth, vaccines may produce immunity longer than 3 years in SOME animals, but a few select studies on small populations of dogs are not adequate grounds for establishing wide ranging quidelines. If her claims were true, no adult animals who were vaccinated as puppies would ever get distemper, parvo, or hepatitis. In reality all three diseases have been reported in said situations.
In truth, vaccine companies only test their vaccines for 3 year duration of immunity, and therefore any veterinarian that says a vaccine is good for longer than that is liable and negligent for any illness that develops in unvaccinated animals. Titers (blood levels of circulating antibodies) can be run on pets for parvo and distemper, but they only tell you that the animal was protected at the time of the blood sample. They do not tell you if the immunity will last a week, a year, a decade, etc. Anyone that tells you different is ignorant or lying to you. People concerned about over vaccination can have these tests run annually, but every vet interprets their value differently.
Bottom line, shelters are not bad places to get pets. For every case like Oprah's, there are hundreds of healthy animals nationwide that are adopted out. However, wherever you get your pet from, you should always get them checked out immediately by your veterinarian. (In other words, don't assume breeders do everything right either.)
The veterinarian seems to be missing the point. Oprahs Puppies were fostered and raised by a rescue person. They were not properly vaccinated. Knowing they were going to this posh over priced shelter. Which with the price of this shelter should have a quarantine area for street dogs verses puppies. mixing the two is a death sentence. The shelter people know it. Your education did not give you common sense. Defending this shelter only creates more mishaps like this. I would say your mind is too wrapped around the rescue conspiracy. It is well known shelters are the worse places for a puppies. Shelters need veterinarians who think for the animals not for their politics. Politics that kill millions of animals, and slanders hard working tax paying Americans. Not to mention the millions who adopt animals assuming it is the right thing to do. Only to experience death or end up with a dangerous aggressive animal with no pedigree history. Mostly due to the fact the rescues supply are not meeting their demand so they import from third world countries instead of relieving numbers in over crowded shelters across the country. When they do ,do this the animals are always counted twice. If it is a non descript large breed changes of them being killed is pretty high.
One rescue told me American rescues were too sickly so she sells.. Ooops I mean adopts dogs she imports from Taiwan. It is big business for her in her pet shop turned rescue in Arizona. It is so lucrative now to be a rescue. That in California, Arizona, Michigan and other states. Pet Shops are turning rescue. Some still getting puppies from the same supplier. Calling them puppy mill rescues and such. And raking in a lot of money. A non profit CEO is allowed 10% off of all incoming donations. They are allowed to pay themselves and others a wage. Which has no cap, and can pay for perks. The sad thing is they pay no taxes so they bleed our economy selling the same puppies but in a different way . Real news stories need to be done on this new type of puppy black market.
Oh and Mr. veterinarian too bad you can not have the same out look on Pet Stores? Veterinarian like you sadly will only wake up if you are successful enough to blab yourselves out of business. For the day when nobody can own dogs
It is not a rescue vs breeder problem. I've seen dogs from breeders and dogs from rescue come down with parvo. Many people adopt healthy animals from shelters every day.
Response to Ken "the veterinarian"
Re your reference to "misinformation" about vaccinations… I believe vets who recommend annual or triennial revaccination with core MLV vaccines are guilty of spreading "misinformation"…
You suggest the AAHA and WSAVA guidelines "recommend a 3 year protocol". These guidelines do NOT recommend a 3 year protocol for core MLV vaccines.
The AAHA Canine Guidelines 2006 (revised 2007) recommend revaccination with MLV CPV-2, CDV and CAV-2 "at intervals of every 3 years OR LONGER". (pp. 4-5) (My emphasis).
(Type 2006 AAHA Canine Guidelines, Revised into your search engine to find the AAHA guidelines).
The WSAVA Guidelines 2007 recommend revaccination with MLV CPV-2, CDV and CAV-2 "SHOULD NOT BE GIVEN ANY MORE FREQUENTLY than every three years after the 12 month booster injection following the puppy/kitten series." (p. 2). (My emphasis).
(Type WSAVA Dog and Cat Vaccination Guidelines into your search engine to find the WSAVA guidelines)
If you read these recommendations carefully, they do not actually recommend revaccination EVERY three years.
The AAHA guidelines note that duration of immunity with these vaccines is 7 years. (pp. 4-5). The WSAVA guidelines note that duration of immunity is 7 years or LONGER based on challenge and serological studies. (pp. 15-17).
So, where has this 3 year recommendation come from? If duration of immunity is 7 years or longer why vaccinate every three years? It is not logical.
In a paper published in 1998 titled: "Current and future canine and feline vaccination programs" (Veterinary Medicine, March 1998, 233-254), Professor Ronald Schultz, an expert in immunology and a member of the WSAVA Vaccination Guidelines Group, says:
"I believe that dogs and cats vaccinated as puppies and kittens should be revaccinated at 1 year of age with the vaccines used earlier. After that I do not believe there is an immunologic need to revaccinate annually with CDV, CPV-2, CAV-2…"(p.239).
Professor Schultz also makes the following supporting comment:
"An important question to ask yourself is: 'What do we do to ensure that children who are vaccinated at an early age, usually less than 6 years of age, still have immunity at 20, 40, 60, or 90 years of age?' Nothing! We don't measure titers in people, and we don't routinely vaccinate adults. We rely on the memory cells of the immune system. Since vaccines for people are similar in many ways to canine or feline vaccines, since the immune system of a person is similar to that of an animal, and since immunity persists for the life of a person (average 70+ years), then why wouldn't immunity from canine or feline vaccines persist for 10 to 15 years? The answer is that many canine and feline vaccines do provide the same lifelong immunity." (p. 246).
I have not yet discovered any scientific evidence supporting annual or triennial revaccination with core MLV vaccines. Can you supply any scientific evidence Ken?
This whole revaccination story is just a myth that vets and vaccine companies perpetuate, relying on outdated vaccine manufacturers' label recommendations to revaccinate to "ensure continuity of protection" that have no scientific basis. The veterinary community is aware of this and yet many of them still persist in pushing triennial (and even annual !) revaccination with core MLV vaccines.
The more recent triennial recommendation is just a compromise that has been arrived at in the veterinary community (a compromise which excludes pet owners). It's all about money…
Annual and triennial revaccination with core MLV vaccines is not necessary. It is of no benefit to the animal. It needlessly puts the animal at risk of an adverse reaction.
I believe information about duration of immunity is being withheld from pet owners. They are not being informed. Vets who withhold this information from their clients are not obtaining informed consent.
It is a scandal that vets keep pushing unnecessary and possibly risky revaccination with core MLV vaccines. Over-vaccination can make dogs and cats very sick. It can even make them die...
See my earlier comment dated March 16, 8.26 am for further information.
By the way, Ken "the veterinarian"…
Re your reference to parvovirus, in particular the "newer, and deadlier, strain that is making its way across the US...CPV-2C"
As you note in your comments, the WSAVA guidelines are the most current dog and cat vaccination guidelines.
The Canine Parvovirus Type 2 (CPV-2) Fact Sheet attached to the WSAVA Guidelines (p. 15) notes:
"Currently, four genotypes are recognised world-wide, which are referred to as CPV-2 (the orginal genotype), CPV-2a, CPV-2b, CPV-2c. All genotypes are antigenically comparable - vaccination with any one will provide protective immunity against all the other genotypes."
The people who compiled the WSAVA vaccination guidelines are experts, so they might know more about this topic than you...
Re your comments about veterinarians’ liability and negligence... Perhaps veterinarians should be considered liable and negligent if they mislead their clients into having their pets unnecessarily over-vaccinated with core MLV vaccines, particularly as I understand there is no scientific evidence supporting annual or triennial revaccination with core MLV vaccines...?
Will PAWS be paying Oprah back for all the expenses incurred?????? If she had purchased the puppies the breeder would be crucified right now for this happening. PAWS needs to be held responsible.
A new article says that the pups had their first shots. She took them out in a public place on a nice day and she thinks that is where they got it. I'm sorry Oprah.
We all need to educate people that they need full vaccination status before going on public property.
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