can anyone give me any info on canine parvovirus.?

Question

...i have 2 siberian husky pups who are sorta recovering from it now they spent near on a week hospitalised at the vets...but now there home i got this big hang up about bleaching evereything as the vet said that the only thing that will kill the virus if the bacteria is still present in my home....help....!!!!

thanx for ur answers..and true there are sum people out there who dont bother with there dogs jabs i was the unlucky one who did have the pups injected but they got it anyway...when i first noticed they had cpv was when they were losing blood from the back passage and it was horrible iwas heartbroken and plan to do all i can to prevent them getting ill again...thanx again em x

im not refusing to use bleach thats all i have used everywhere 5 times daily for over a week i jus wanted to know wether there was anything else i could do...x

this is what i cant understand my dogs havce had all they need to have done at the vets for a year..all the jabs and everything i cant understand y they still got cpv

this is what i cant understand my dogs havce had all they need to have done at the vets for a year..all the jabs and everything i cant understand y they still got cpv

the pups have been innoculated for the virus as well as god knows what else...and in reference to the last question....i have a sign on my door saying no shoes allowed...and another explaining what parvo is and why u cant wear shoes because of the particles of dog muck on your shoes every1 is aware about what the dogs have had and what causes it..thanx alot for all your help...x

Answer 1

Well first the pups can not contract the virus again from it being in your home. You should bleach everything though as well as putting bleach in one of those fertilizer things that go on the hose and bleach your lawn where they had been. Parvo has a lifespan of 10 years so if you have more puppies, or a friend comes over with a dog, or even if somebody walks by it can infect them. My advice is to follow what your veterinarian said for the reasons listed unless you know for a fact that nobody else will come in contact with it (which would be rather hard to guarantee). So happy your puppies pulled through. I love Sibes. They're the best.

Answer 2

There is strong evidence that there are vaccine-resistent strains emerging. The best stuff I know that kills viruses and spores on contact is peracetic acid. Sterilants with dichloro- ingredients are extremely powerful as well. You can use those at a dilution up to 1:18:1 and get 99.9% viricidal and sporicidal action. Xspor and Clidox come to mind. These are cleaning agents you can get through hospital and kennel suppliers. They are both far more powerful than bleach even at dilute concentrations. UV light kills some micro-organisms but not others. Pouring boiling water on dirt areas and bedding may help, but I still recommend a capful of bleach for every 5 gallons of water. Quaternary ammonia compounds are also effective but have a longer contact time. Peracetic acid, bleach, and dichloro's all evaporate out of solution within 4 hours, so they are safe to use and leave no residues.

You want to keep the pups away from other dogs for 6-8 weeks until their immune systems have had a chance to recover somewhat. Make sure they get the full rounds of all vaccinations. Make sure they do not overexert themsleves in the heat, and that they get plenty of water and fluids. I would even recommend feeding them canned food for the extra moisture right now.

Answer 3

Parvovirus is highly contagious to other dogs and remains in the environment for up to a year if not longer. It is shed in fecal matter so the "hot" spots are going to be where ever you potty trained your dogs. If you don't want to bleach try to find a different viruscidal cleaner. Many vet hospitals and pet stores use other cleaners though they are not much nicer any way and will be more expensive.

The biggest risk is not to your pups but to friends who come over and may take the virus elsewhere and to any dogs that visit. You can put your pups in a kennel for an hour while you clean and let the bleach solution dry. It does not need to be any stronger then one part bleach to nine parts water. Wipe it on all hard surfaces and let it dry, then wipe everything with plain water and your dogs will be able to run around.

Answer 4

BLEACH you are doing the right thing that really is the most less expensive way to get rid of the virus. There have been cases that dogs will still catch parvo even with the vaccinations, now that your dogs are home they still are contagious......... Their feces is still contagious for 30 days after recovering. Each time that the dogs do their duty clean it up and dispose of it and bleach the area really well to kill the virus that was in the feces here is some info i found for you.

The best way to protect your pet is by proper vaccination. No vaccine is 100% protective, but it is still the best method of prevention.Parvo is highly contagious to unprotected dogs, and the virus can remain infectious in ground contaminated with fecal material for five months or more if conditions are favorable. Extremely hardy, most disinfectants cannot kill the virus, however chlorine bleach is the most effective and inexpensive agent that works, and is commonly used by veterinarians.

The ease with which infection with Parvo can occur in any unvaccinated dog must be stressed. The virus is extremely hardy in the environment. Withstanding wide temperature fluctuations and most cleaning agents. Parvo can be brought home to your dog on shoes, hands and even car tires. It can live for many months outside the animal. Any areas that are thought to be contaminated with parvo should be thoroughly washed with chlorine bleach diluted 1 ounce per quart of water.

Dogs and puppies can contract parvo even if they never leave their yards. Parvo virus, despite what you might hear, is NOT an airborne virus. It is excreted in the feces of infected dogs, and if someone -- human, dog, bird, etc. -- steps in (or otherwise comes in contact with) the excrement, the possibility for contamination is great. Some people speculate that birds invading a dog's food dish can deposit the parvovirus there. If you think you may have come in contact with parvovirus, a strong solution of bleach and water does kill the virus, so you can wash your shoes and clothes, even your hands with it, to reduce the risk of infecting your dog.

Dogs who have survived parvo can get it again. In the case of some puppies, a puppy testing negative for Parvo one day could succumb to the virus within a matter of days. It strikes fast and without mercy. Dr. Cathy Priddle has warned that sulfa drugs have been known to cause dehydration in dogs, suggesting that animals infected with parvovirus should not be given sulfa drugs.

If your pet becomes infected, please keep in mind that dogs with parvo shed the virus in their feces and are extremely contagious to other dogs. Follow these recommendations to help prevent the spread of this disease.



Keep the infected dog isolated from all other dogs for at least one month after full recovery.


Clean up all the dog's stools in your yard.


Use a 1:30 ratio of chlorine bleach and water to clean food and water bowls (4 oz. in 1 gallon of water). Wash any bedding the dog has been in contact with in this same bleach solution and hot water. You should also try to disinfect any other areas that the dog has been, like linoleum, concrete kennels, crates, etc.


If you have any other dogs that are two years old or younger, or who have never been vaccinated for parvo, please bring them in for a booster as soon as possible.


Be sure to feed your dog a bland diet, such as Canine Prescription i/d, until he is fully recovered. When switching back to his normal diet, mix the regular food with the i/d for 2-3 days to help your pet gradually adjust to the change.
Hope this helps

Answer 5

Bleach is not the only thing available, your vet should have offered you something that you should wash your house with. my dog died of it about 7 years ago, and we were given this green liquid stuff (cant remember the name but it smelt nicer than bleach) to disinfect our house with before we could bring any more dogs in. have you also been told by the vet that your garden can harbour parvo for years? it lives just beneath the surface and eventually washes away with the rain. This can cause problems for letting a dog out so we sectioned our garden into strips and left the hosepipe running on one section at a time for 48 hours to make sure there had been enough water on it to wash it away. (not too difficult if you only have a small garden but ours is huge!!) good luck with getting rid of it!

Answer 6

Canine parvovirus (CPV) is a contagious virus affecting dogs. The disease is highly infectious and is spread from dog to dog by physical contact and contact with feces.

There are two forms of CPV: intestinal and cardiac. Cardiac form is less common and affects puppies less than eight weeks old.[2] It attacks the heart muscle and the dog dies suddenly of heart failure.

Certain breeds, such as Rottweilers and Dobermanns, have a higher rate of death. This may be due to the fact that these breeds are prone to von Willebrand disease.

Dogs become infected through contact with CPV in feces. Most dogs (more than 80 percent) that are infected will show no symptoms.[2] Dogs that develop the disease show symptoms of the illness within 7 to 10 days. The symptoms are lethargy, vomiting, and diarrhea (usually bloody). After a dog is infected, there is no cure, but dogs usually recover from the viral infection and associated symptoms within five days.[2] However, diarrhea and vomiting result in dehydration and secondary infections can set in, causing death even in treated dogs. Risk factors for severe disease include young age, a stressful environment, and concurrent infections with bacteria, parasites, and canine coronavirus.[2]

The virus attacks the lymph nodes, intestines, and the bone marrow. Bacteria that normally live in the intestines then leak into the bloodstream and cause septicemia. Due to dehydration, the dog's electrolyte balance is destroyed. Normally 80% of the body is composed of water and, when the body loses 10 to 15% of its water content, death ensues. Myocarditis can occur when puppies younger than 8 weeks are infected.

Survival rate depends on how quickly it is diagnosed and how aggressive the treatment is. Diagnosis is made through detection of CPV in the feces, although the presence of bloody diarrhea and a low white blood cell count in an unvaccinated dog are strong indications of infection. Treatment usually involves extensive hospitalization, including IV fluids, antinausea injections, and antibiotic injections. Even with hospitalization, there is no guarantee that the dog will survive.

Direct contact with infected feces is not necessary for the disease to spread: feces on shoes, clothing, hair, and so on are all that is needed for the transmission. The disease is extremely hardy and has been found to be present in feces even after a year including extremely cold temperatures. The only household disinfectant that kills the virus is a mixture of bleach and water, 1 part bleach and 30 parts of water.[2]

Prevention is the only way to ensure that a puppy or dog remains healthy. This disease is extremely virulent and contagious. With severe disease, dogs can die within 48 to 72 hours with no treatment. In the more common, less severe form, mortality is about 10 percent.[1] It is extremely important to vaccinate dogs against CPV. According to vaccine manufacturers' labels, CPV vaccination should be done yearly. However, most United States veterinary schools recommend vaccinating every three years after the puppy series and the first annual booster, because of the long-term immune system stresses placed on the dog. Vaccines labeled for three year CPV immunity are now available.

A dog that successfully recovers from CPV is still contagious for up to 2 months, so the dog must be kept away from other dogs and puppies. Neighbors and family members with dogs should be notified of infected animals so that they can ensure that their dogs are vaccinated and tested.

Canine parvovirus affects dogs, wolves and foxes. It does not transmit to cats, birds, or humans; although each species has its own parvovirus. Canine parvovirus cannot be spread to species outside of the canid family, but it can be spread by them. (ex. a bird comes in contact with feces and then the dog's environment, or a cat goes to the groomers and returns with an exposed petcarrier.)

Answer 7

They should have been protected by their mothers antibodies until they were old enough to be vaccinated. So I assume she wasn't vaccinated.
You have been instructed by the vet to use bleach, so why are you refusing? You have seen how serious parvo is.
Get a steam cleaner to do all the carpets and upholstery. Use bleach every where else. Wash all your clothes and bedding and dry it in sunlight.
Don't take chances with fatal but preventable disease.

Answer 8

Did they have 4 distemper vaccines from a vet???? If they are puppies and as you say "have all they need for a year" then they must have had 4 vaccines from the vet, right? Sounds like they did not get all their vaccines. They start giving vaccines at 8 weeks and then boost them every 3 weeks until about age 16 weeks. Did they have these?? Doubt it.

Answer 9

i really wish i knew what the mix we used at the vet was comprised of, it may have had bleach but it never bleached any cloth or anything so.. that's odd. the techs/kennel assistants would spray themselves down with it after handling a parvo case, as well as we would soak the entire room it was in for a while before putting anything else in it. if you're concerned about everything getting ruined, try color safe bleach? and see if there are any clorox wipes with bleach in em.

Answer 10

If the pups only got ONE set of shots they are NOT protected against this dreadful disease. My pups that to have 3 rounds of shots, spaced about 4 weeks apart. Thats the only way they will be protected. This is a misconception. People think if there dog has one set of shots thats all they need. Talk to your vet and please get your dogs properly vacinated. It can be prevented and prevention is alot cheaper than the cost to cure it and someitmes if it is to far along they die.