I received the following alert for dog owners concerning a new deadly
strain of Parvo that hits both pups and adults - this is the 2nd strain
of Parvo I know of that takes adults - the first took them in 24 hours
from first symptom to death. This one seems to be as diligent setting
our furkids on the path to the Bridge.

And I know Parvo does not hit ferrets, but I do worry about genetic
mutations of pathogens between species. Even without interspecies
mutations this virus in the house (for those w/both dogs and ferrets)
could create stress in the household, physical and emotional, that
could lead to a reduced resistance of other pathogens in our ferrety
fuzzies.

Please be on guard and extra vigilant with your pets. I am closely
monitoring and medicating a 13-year old Great Dane for systems support
due to old age. When I wanted to take her in a month ago to see her
Dr. he strongly, no very strongly, advised me not to - he said he was
getting slammed hard already with Parvo cases - no doubt due to the
lack of a real winter this last season.

Bill, thank you for letting me share this alert. So much that does not
apply directly to our ferrets, does affect their health and survival.

Vicki

[Moderator's note: I think there's at least some possibility that a
year providing favorable conditions for the canine parvovirus might
also provide favorable conditions for the similar viruses affecting
ferrets. BIG]

[CABRAZ] Fw: INFO REGARDING PARVO AND NEW STRAIN FOUND
IN ADULT DOGS - PARVO 2C - OT

A PUPPY WAS TRANSPORTED THIS WEEKEND AND SUCCUMBED TO PARVO YESTERDAY.
THIS IS INFO SENT BY THE GROUP WHO RAN THE TRANSPORT. VALUABLE TO BOTH
RESCUES AND DRIVERS. PLEASE CROSS POST AND ALSO SHARE WITH THE SHELTERS
WITH WHOM YOU MIGHT WORK.


One of the ACO's on a board I'm on actually went to a lecture on 2c
Parvo in NJ not too long ago. This is what she said:

There is a new strain out there that is attacking older dogs!!! They
had one test positive for the new strain in NJ according to the lecture
from last night. So, it is in the state. It has been located in 2/3rds
of the States in the US . The worse part is that the test kits
sometimes test negative and it is the new strain of parvo!! They are
calling the new strain 2c; the one that they had before (and still
exists) 2b. The new strain is not the typical bloody type; it can be
yellow diarrhea and still be parvo. The samples to send to a lab., if
you are going to is the small intestines and the tongue....It seems
to make lesions in the tongue.

The treatment is the same as the old strain, it is just harder to
detect.

As far as the lower living standards, the first ones to report the
strain were professional breeders that saw their puppies and the
puppies' mothers dying from a disease that did not look like parvo but
was wiping out their dogs. They called a virologist to the scene since
they were losing a lot of money; the test came back parvo but with a
mutant in the genome. This is what they are calling 2c. By the way,
they are seeing this in raccoons as well.

Parvo is not self-limiting. It kills anything that gets it unless there
is medical intervention to save the life of the animal. The first place
that I worked as a vet. tech., we saw several cases of parvo, mostly
coming from the poorer communities that could not afford to vaccinate.
The first summer that I came back to work as the vet., I saw 20 cases.
I managed to save 16 of those 20 because I was so familiar with parvo
that I could detect it without the test kits. Now, the suggestion is to
not even test; "If it looks like parvo, treat for parvo until proven
that it is not parvo," as the lecturer said.

I just started writing for Examiner.com. Since this was an interesting
lecture, I might be commenting further on one of my articles in the
future. I'm going to see if I can get the lecturer to send me some of
his information to post, or at least some decent pictures, etc. to
write the article about what I found out. Rhonda wrote: Thank you,
Anne, for this valuable information. Everyone, please note that this
strain of parvo WILL infect adult dogs. We've been seeing more and more
of it in the shelters in KY. I, personally, pulled 2 adult dogs who
were infected and died while awaiting transport -- within 24 hours of
showing any symptoms, and despite aggressive treatment.

Please remember, also, that almost all of the dogs on our transports
have been vaccinated within days of transport; and because the vaccines
may take 5-7 days to be fully effective, most of the dogs may have
little or no immunity during transport. Some may have been vaccinated
at some point in their life or may have developed some natural
immunity, but that's not something you can count on, when it comes to
parvo.

For those of you who transported Macaroni uncrated in your vehicles,
your upholstery is likely now contaminated too, and you will at least
need to cover it with a nonporous material for any future transports.
If you're able to clean it with bleach solution, you should do that, as
well. And, if possible, it would be a good idea to crate any dogs you
transport to keep them from coming into contact with any contaminated
area, if Macaroni was uncrated in your vehicle. It's always best to
crate puppies and not put them on the ground at stops, so as to try to
contain any potential contamination. And please remember too that a dog
does not have to exhibit symptoms to be a parvo carrier. All it takes
is some parvo-infected poop on a dog's paw to enable them to spread it
to others. The dog that is the carrier may never become infected, but
s/he still has the ability to spread the disease.

Please watch for early signs of parvo -- lethargy, lack of appetite and
vomiting (usually frothy/phlegm). These symptoms will usually appear
long before the diarrhea begins. For the most common strain of parvo,
treatment in the early stages is 85% effective. It is, however, a
different story with the strain that infected Macaroni. While standard
parvo treatment is rarely successful on this strain, we can at least
attempt to control any further infection. I applaude those of you who
took quick action on Saturday to try to help Macaroni and the other
dogs on the transport. The other dogs from transport should be closely
monitored for the next week or so, especially if they were recently
vaccinated.

For those of you who don't know me, Toni and I have been teaming up
each week to get dogs out of KY and to their rescues. I usually get
them to Grove City , and she takes them east from there. I've copied
all of my drivers and rescues from this past weekend on this email too.
Some may have seen Macaroni, the little pyr pup from Mt. Sterling KY,
in Grove City on Saturday. We are currently scouting out new meeting
places for the Grove City stop, so please take note of the location
if you are driving any legs in or out of Grove City , from this point
forward. Thank you all for your dedication and compassion for all of
the dogs we transport and for doing your very best to keep them all
safe, as you send them on their way to their new lives.

-- Rhonda

[Posted in FML 7414]