Parvovirus explodes in city's dog population

[Crossfire Bulldogs]

By Erica Molina Johnson / El Paso Times


Veterinary technician Annette Appelzoller washed out a cage Tuesday at the Animal Control kennels. Animal Control has bought stronger cleaners to kill parvovirus at the shelter.

An outbreak of the potentially deadly parvovirus is spreading through the city and is striking puppies with such frequency that some veterinarians can no longer keep up with treating the sick dogs.
"Some veterinarians are turning cases away because they have no room to keep them," said Dr. Roger Freund, president of the El Paso Veterinary Medical Association.

The parvovirus usually strikes in El Paso during the spring and fall, veterinarians said, but this fall's occurrence seems especially strong.

"It's much worse this year. I normally see eight or 10 cases a year, and I've seen eight cases a month," Freund said. "I'm seeing eight or 10 times more cases than I should."

He and other veterinarians are asking pet owners to be vigilant.

"If your dog is not eating for a day and vomiting, see a vet," said Dr. Wiley Heath, a veterinarian at Americas Animal Clinic.

"It got pretty bad," he said. "I think it was worse than last year at this time."

He said that during the summer, which typically has few cases of parvo, he saw one or two cases a month in his clinic.

"Now we might see five in one day," he said.

Lorenzo Hinojos, a supervisor at Animal Control, said the current parvo outbreak can be traced in part to the recent rains in the city.

"When you have standing water, you tend to have a lot of flies and mosquitoes," he said. "Flies will go where an infected animal is and get on top of infected feces and they will spread it around."

Freund said the rains could have also contributed in other ways.

"It stirred up the soil, and it's spreading all over the city," he said. "Before, it was probably kept to where there were a lot of stray dogs, and now with the rain and the flood, it's taken the soil and moved it all over the city."

Freund said the virus can live on the ground for up to a year, and pet owners can transmit it to their puppies by simply walking through a contaminated area and taking it home.

"If parvo was a human disease, it would be 10 times scarier than AIDS," Freund said.

Animal Control stopped adoptions of dogs and cats last week until the outbreak is brought under control. Hinojos said Animal Control has bought stronger cleaners to try to kill the virus at the shelter.

However, animal organizations such as the Humane Society of El Paso, Animal Rescue League and Pet Guardian Angel continue to offer animals for adoption. Even though Animal Control has stopped public adoptions of animals, rescue groups may continue.

"We have lots of puppies for adoption," said Mary Cornwall, a volunteer at the Humane Society. "I talked to four or five people, and they said they didn't know they could adopt puppies right now."

Animals suspected of being ill are not placed for adoption.

The potentially deadly virus can be preventable if pet owners take steps to protect their puppies, a local veterinarian said.

"They need to vaccinate, and vaccinate often," said Dr. Guy Johnsen of Johnsen Animal Hospital. "There's a myth that dogs shouldn't start vaccinations until they are 4 to 6 months old. That's wrong."

He said puppies should get their vaccinations as early as 6 weeks old, and then every three weeks for four or five injections. "This is really more of a puppy disease than (in) adult dogs."

Heath said he has seen parvo recently in at least two older dogs, and he urged pet owners to be sure their animals are vaccinated.

Johnsen said the number of parvovirus cases in the region is not much of an increase over what he usually sees at this time of year.

He said cases of parvo in El Paso tend to decrease once colder weather sets in and the fly population is reduced.

He said pet owners should take care to keep their puppies sheltered until their vaccinations are complete by not visiting places frequented by other dogs, such as groomers, kennels and parks. He also recommended feeding dogs indoors to prevent infected flies from landing on their food bowls.

"Unfortunately, the disease crosses all barriers," Johnsen said. "If a dog has parvo and they are less than 3 months of age, it's probably a 90 percent mortality."

He said the mortality rate drops to about 50 percent for dogs between 3 and 6 months old, and to about 30 percent for those between 6 months and 1 year.

"Once they get age in them, I don't worry about them quite so much," he said.

Freund recommends disinfecting all hard surfaces such as tile floors, concrete and food and water bowls with a solution of 1 ounce of bleach to 1 quart of water. "It's everywhere, and it's hard to kill."