# Parvovirus



## lamanchagoatgrl (Oct 27, 2006)

My brother's dog(doesn't live with us) was diagnosed with Parvo this morning. She woke up this morning throwing up, with the runs, and she just looked terrible he said. He took her into the vet immediately. Well, they put her on IV, and hopefully she'll make it. The odds look good because he got her in there as soon as she started showing signs. Anyway, my question is how long does Parvovirus live in the soil? I've read and been told a lot of different time frames... How long should I wait before it's safe to go to my brother's house without running the risk of bringing the virus home to my new Chihuahua puppy? My puppy has had three shots, the last one today. How long till' he'll be safe from it?? 
I'm just very worried since I know Parvo is highly contagious...

Any help is much appreciated. Thanks


----------



## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

http://www.workingdogs.com/parvofaq.htm


----------



## cricket (Dec 15, 2004)

One thing I don't agree with in that article...A bleach solution doesn't kill anything. In order for bleach to work, it must be used full strength. Commercially available bleach is a 5.12% solution and when mixed with water loses quite a bit of "punch". Nolvasan, Lysol, and a couple other cleaning agents will kill it though. Nolvasan can be added to wash water and is safe enough to wash bowls and sleeping areas and has the added benefit of being non-corrosive (bleach is very corrosive). 


The bad news is that if you have gone to see your brother in the last week or 2, you've probably brought it home with you. The good news is that your puppy is protected for the most part and chances are won't develope the disease. The last shot your pup had won't be completely effective for another week or 2 though... 

I wish your brother good luck and his pup is in my thoughts. This is a very expensive, horrible disease....


----------



## NightmareRanch (Dec 24, 2006)

We live in an area where parvo is considered endemic. We're surrounded by coyotes and it's in the soil. If we get rain it 'reactivates' and there'll be a local epidemic. Actually, rain washes dirt through our yard and brings the parvo with it. Parvo survives a very long time in the evironment as long as it has moisture and it's not too hot. If we get no rain during our hot season the parvo in the yard dies. It doesn't survive more than a couple months indoors.

A puppy infected with parvo will shed virus for up to six weeks. Everything in the pups environment will need to be disinfected. Your pup is probably safe if it hasn't had recent contact with the sick puppy, due to it's vaccine program. I'd still keep them separate for a couple of months because an overwhelming challenge dose can break through vaccine induced immunity to cause illness. It's rare but it happens.

Tamiflu has been used to treat parvo sucessfully.
http://vettechs.blogspot.com/2005/04/oseltamivir-is-there-new-treatment-for.html
http://www.bi-mar.com/tamiflu.asp

I have also used Parvaid successfully on parvo puppies. It seems to help especially with restoring appetite. It ain't cheap and you do have to be on the ball with it. It's labor intensive.
http://www.ambertech.com/
My last litter got sick between their first and second vaccine and all but two recovered in four or five hours. The other two took a few hours longer. We're well versed in parvo though so can spot a sick pup early. I'm building a special puppy yard now (raised above the level of the rest of the yard) so any future pups will have less of a chance of exposure before their vaccines take effect. Next time I also plan to have Tamiflu on hand, just in case, since paving the entire twenty acres so I can disinfect everything is not an option.

Jess


----------



## Honorine (Feb 27, 2006)

Get your puppy a Neopar shot, its a special high titer vaccine that protects against numerous strains of parvo. You can give it at three weeks to protect young puppies also.


----------



## Ninn (Oct 28, 2006)

Our Panda got parvo last summer. It was not a pretty site. We were very lucky in that we caught it quite early. She was in the hospital for 5 days on iv fluids and antibiotics. Since she was due for shots anyway, she got all of her boosters while she was there, too. The hardest part was the special food she had to eat afterward while her intestinal lining grew back. She hated it, and it took 6 months for her to look like a dog again, instead of a "thing". She was embarrassed the whole time, too. Didn't want to go for walks with me cuz she wasn't pretty and fluffy. Some days were better than other during recovery. Her vet said the best thing we did for her was to come up there every day and take her outdoors. She never had a chance to get lonely for us. We fed her and cared for her just like at home, on a smaller scale. She is fine now, can't tell she was ever sick. We saturated the ground outside with about 50 gallons of laundry bleach=no water. Since we lived right near the river and there were always dogs out there, we will never know how she got it. Not one other house pet dog on our street got sick, that we know of. Of course, as soon as we realized what she had, we called everyone and told them how to disinfect and what to watch for. We are still paying on the vet bills, but it was so worth it to have our little girl home and well.


----------

