30/10/2024
❗️CANINE DISTEMPER OUTBREAK IN DELMAS AREA ❗
* Canine distemper virus (CDV) is a highly contagious and potentially fatal disease of dogs. Cats do not become infected by CDV and cannot spread it to dogs.
It is more likely to spread in communities with low vaccination rates and high dog populations. Symptoms vary in severity from *sub-clinical (the dog is infected and can spread the disease to other animals, but is not showing any symptoms), to rapidly life-threatening. Young or unvaccinated dogs are most at risk. Vaccination is very effective at preventing CDV, and it is a core vaccination for every dog.
* CDV is spread through bodily fluids (urine, faeces, saliva) and air containing droplets of the virus (released when a nearby infected animal coughs, sneezes or barks).
Once a dog becomes infected, the virus spreads through the body, weakens the immune system and may affect the skin (hardening and cracking of nose and paw pads), gastrointestinal system (vomiting and diarrhoea), respiratory system (coughing and sneezing) and nervous system (seizures, muscle spasms, coma and death).
Infected dogs are contagious to other dogs several days before before they show any symptoms (this can take anywhere from less than 1 week to 6 weeks). Infected dogs can continue to shed the virus and infect others long after cessation of symptoms (2 weeks to 3 months, sometimes even 6-8 months after clinically healed).
Treatment of CDV is symptomatic and treating secondary bacterial infections. There is no cure for CDV.
* Prevention: VACCINATION!
Puppies: first vaccination at 4-6 weeks old, repeated every 3-4 weeks until 16-20 weeks old (four vaccinations in total). Then repeated after 1 year and thereafter at least once every 3 years for adult dogs.
