Canine distemper, one of the killer diseases for dogs, may cause severe complications to your beloved companion. Luckily, it is entirely avoidable.
Canine distemper virus (CDV) mostly infects terrestrial carnivores but CDV or its related morbillivriuses can also infect animals like badgers, ferrets and seals. The virus is found in respiratory secretions, urine, faeces, saliva and conjunctival discharges. Susceptible dogs usually get infected through inhaling secretions containing the virus. This might be through direct dog-to-dog contact, by dog inhaling aerosol containing the virus from infected dogs or through sniffing around the environment fomites with droplets containing the virus. The virus can also infect puppies through the placenta from unvaccinated and infected pregnant bitch.
Once inoculated, the virus replicates rapidly within the lymphoid, nervous and epithelial tissues of the respiratory, genitourinary and the gastrointestinal tract. Distemper has a fatality rate of about 50% and the survival rate and treatment success depend on the immunity of the infected dog, with poorly responsive dogs dying within 1-2 weeks after infection. Dogs with stronger immunity may recover within 1-2 weeks.
Signs:
Common signs of CDV infection might include coughing, sneezing, vomiting, diarrhoea, depression, seizures, as well as nasal and ocular discharges. You may also see inflammation of the eye, dry eyes, thickening of the nose and paw pads, skin infections and abnormal enamel growth. Puppies infected with CDV during pregnant might result in stillbirth, abortion, rapid death shortly after birth.
Even years after the dog has recovered, there is a 10-20% chance that the virus infects brain tissue and can cause seizures, paralysis, muscle tremors and incoordination.
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