The disease made its first appearance in the late 1978s and was said that it was a possible mutation from the feline distemper virus. A number of dogs died from PARVO in the late 70's since dogs had not developed natural antibodies, little was known about the virus although the feline distemper vaccine was given as the first Parvo vaccination. It was about 20 years later when most dogs had either encountered the virus naturaly or by vaccine. These natural antibodies pass onto puppies but wear off when they reach about 3 months of age. This is why its important to vaccinate puppies around this age. The first vaccine is given around about 8 weeks and is repeated at 12 and 16 weeks of age and then a yearly booster is given to older dogs. Parvo is a disease that attacks the lining of the digestive system and for some reason it is said that black and tan coloured breeds such as the dobermann and rottwiler are more prone to the disease but all breeds are at risk.
CAUSE
Parvo virus is caused by a highly contagious virus thats transmitted by dogs having contact with infected feces. A virus contains either DNA or RNA and only produce when they invade a cell, once inside the cell many new viruss are produced and the cells burst releasing new virus particles intot he blood stream. Since viruses are the smallest known living known organisms only a scanning electron microscope can show up the virus. Just aa tiny amount, a teaspoon of stool contains millions of parvo virus particles. Pups and dogs having worms can have parvo and this is probably due to the fact that they are weak and are more vunerable to pick up disease.
SYMPTOMS
�NCLUDE : fever, vomiting, diarrhea that in sevre cases may be bloody, watery and has a bad odor. Dogs will be off their food and be lethargy.
D�AGNOSIS
Usualy a physical examination using blood tests and xrays. A complete blood count will show reduced white blood cells if Parvo is present. A further blood test can reveal if parvo antibodies are present. Another test is a CITE test to test the feces.