If a puppy has hookworm, can it falsely test for the parvovirus? I had to put my 10wk puppy to sleep.(Parvo+)?

Question

I bought a 9wk old puppy from a breeder. I had him for a week. He had slightly loose stools when I bought him and it got worse by the end of the week. On the day that I brought him to the vet he had bloody stool. I brought him in and they tested him for worms, he tested positive for hookworm. We went home with meds for worms and he just slept allday. It was in the evening when I knew something was really wrong, he could barely move. I brought him to the emergency hospital and told them about the hookworm. They tested him for parvo virus and he tested positive. They said he would have to be hospitalized and that it would cost close to $3,000 so we had to put him to sleep as we do not have that kind of money. I called the breeder & told him what happened and he called his vet who said that he could have had a false positive on the parvo test if he had bad enough hookworm. Is this true? The vet at the emergency hospital said nothing of the sort. I cant stop thinking about it. Please help!

Answer 1

While no test is 100% I've yet to see a parvo puppy test positive when it wasn't. If your puppy was as lethargic as you say and tested positive I'd say YES it was positive. You need to get a written document from the ER vet. This breeder should give you a full refund. Unfortunately depending upon where you live and if you have a contract most breeders only guarantee the health of the puppy for 72 hours. But with parvo any reputable breeder should refund your full purchase price. It's really sad this happened to you. Did this breeder have more than one litter? More than one type of breed? Sounds like a puppy mill to me. Backyard breeders vaccinate their own puppies or say they do and really don't. The fact the puppy had hooks tells me this person needs to be reported to your local humane society. You have every right to sue these people if they don't refund your money. When you are ready to get another puppy might I suggest you rescue one from a local rescue group. They test the pups for everything, have them vaccinated, alter them or at least include the price of it in the adoption. You end up getting a lot more for your money, you save a life, and you'll have a healthier dog if it's a mutt. Believe it or not. Most rescues have full bred dogs as well. There are even rescue groups that are breed specific. I can guide you if you like no matter where you live. Go to www.petfinder.org and check them out. I am with Coastal Pet Rescue in Savannah Ga. We transport our pups all over the country to good homes. We simply have a volunteer from a rescue group in your city do a home visit. Something to think about. If you do buy another puppy please buy one from a reputable breeder that only breeds one breed of dog and has no more than 2 females. You can also look at www.akc.org and look for breeders there. Feel free to email me. [e-mail]

Answer 2

Okay, I'm going to tackle your worries from the perspective of a medical technologist and one who knows quite a bit of stuff in this subject. (I am also a scientific researcher)

Some vets do not do the lab tests and sometimes forget what is involved with the tests. I've seen cases like that before. Lab techs tend to be in real practice with their medical technology and will usually have more practice in diagnostic lab routines than the vet will.

The test for parvo virus involves dunking a swab into the butt of the dog (you want chunks of intestinal cells that line the tract and which are shedding virus. You don't want poop). This cellular mess is stirred into media to test for the virus antigen. The test is _very_ specific, like having a key that fits into a lock. The rare cases of a wrong result on this would be if there is so much blood with antibodies included in the sample that the antibodies (in WBCs) react with the antigens in the sample -- and effectively hide enough of the antigen so that the test doesn't register a positive (thus giving a false negative). All lab tests have a baseline of sensitivity. If the test amount is too low to detect, it will be a 'negative'.

This does not involve a microscope but a reaction that takes place in special media. Sort of like a home pregnancy test... it won't show a positive or negative for worms. Bad analogy with the preggo test but the same level of reality.

On the other hand: The test for worm parasites involves looking in the microscope to see the egg/ova that is associated with the species of worm being tested. These ova float in a medium that the poop is mashed up into. If you see an egg, there's gotta be a worm that put it there.

So the breeder or vet seem to be entertaining the idea that the puppy did not actually die from Parvo but died from something else (like hookworms) -- and are blaming it on an alleged false postitive. Okay, this doesn't ring realistically at all.

This is what happened to your puppy.....
Puppy's maternal antibodies (from the mom's colostrum) protected the puppy from getting parvo when it was newborn. UNFORTUNATELY, the mother's antibody level also keeps the puppy from making his own antibody even when he gets shots!

So what happened here is that at some point the mother's antibodies inside the puppy wore off and the puppy didn't have a shot that was kicking in.

This is completely natural. And this is why puppies need a series of Parvo shots. Because it is like shooting blanks. You do not know when the mother's antibodies for Parvo will wear off.

You can give puppies parvo shots from the time they are born (tho I don't know any reason why someone would!) and they will not develop their own antibody titer against Parvo until their immunity from mothers milk wears off.

I suspect that the Breeder may not know much about parvo, and that the vet didn't remember his lab technology well.

Please don't feel horrible. This is so sad and stressful.

I can see where everyone may have played a part in this pup becoming ill but I don't think there is exactly one person to blame. If the puppy was was exposed to parvo virus by coming into contact with fecal material on the sidewalk, grass, at a dog park, a freeway rest stop or near the fence at the breeder's place... AND if at the same time, the mom's antibodies wore off in the puppy, then the puppy would be exposed.

It generally takes a few days for the disease to incubate in the system and take over.

Again, the vet may be behind on his studies. I know plenty of medical doctors (human med) that didn't remember to order glucose tests and hemoglobin A1C tests when screening a human patient for diabetes and also disregarding a borderline high blood sugar level as normal, just because the population sample tends to run "pre-diabetic". It is frustrating! But Health care providers have a lot on their minds and are not always on top of it all.

The vet at the emergency hospital clinic has a professional need to not point fingers in cases where there is not a clear case of malignant practice.

If your breeder included a shot record with the puppy and is really convinced that it couldn't possibly be parvo, he is little different from the majority of people on answers.yahoo.com who do not know much about parvo. I hope you can get your money back on the puppy. Nothing will replace the loss and the stress you have gone through. If you want, please feel free to contact me via answers on my icon.

Answer 3

Dogs with JUST a hookworm infection should not falsely test positive for parvo. However if a dog was recently vaccinated for parvo usually up to two weeks prior to been tested they CAN have a false positive test. Dogs with severe hookworm infections can have signs similiar to parvo which both conditions can both be deadly. Both would require intensive treatment to provide support because both conditions can cause a tremendous loss of blood through bloody diarrhea among other problems. So if your dog did just have a severe hookworm infestation the treatment could have been similiar in comparision to if it had parvo and may have been just as expensive. It would be difficult to know that for sure because that would all be dependent on how your dog would of responded to treatment.

Answer 4

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
If a puppy has hookworm, can it falsely test for the parvovirus? I had to put my 10wk puppy to sleep.(Parvo+)?
I bought a 9wk old puppy from a breeder. I had him for a week. He had slightly loose stools when I bought him and it got worse by the end of the week. On the day that I brought him to the vet he had bloody stool. I brought him in and they tested him for worms, he tested positive for hookworm. We...

Answer 5

Okay.

One.

The idiot who said hookworm and parvo can't kill your dog is just that. An idiot. I don't care if I get flagged, that's like saying, "Yeah, it's your fault your mama died of cancer." Idiot.

Parvo virus is almost always fatal without treatment. It's fatal in 20% of dogs with treatment. Many people cannot afford the treatment, and putting it to sleep is a very humane alternative.

As to your question, I don't know. But I am very very sorry for your loss. And don't listen to idiots who tell you it was your fault. Parvo is fatal, and if you can't afford treatment, putting it to sleep is much more humane than letting the dog puke blood for two days before it dies of dehydration.

Answer 6

I have never heard of worms causing a false positive for parvo. I think the breeder is lying to you. You should have had a necropsy(autopsy) done to make a definite diagnosis. I am so sorry for your loss. I hink the breeder should give you your money back for the puppy.

Answer 7

being that you got your puppy from a "breeder" he should have had his shots before you acquired him !!!and he should have been wormed.
it is very sad that you took your puppy to a vet and they only treated the worms.being that he had diarrhea that was a big mistake. puppies get dehydrated easily, the "worming" makes it worse because it forces their bodies to get rid of the worms.(and any fluids they have left)as he was already poor shape.
parvo is very common in puppies. if caught early it can be treated effectively.they usually vomit the same type stuff as their feces, (dark, gooey, smells of death.)
usually the test that is not accurate is the parvo test itself.
I'm very sorry for your loss. it's so sad to see a puppy go through that. I hope you eventually try again and make sure it has been taken care of properly before you bring home another one. also if you have any other pets (dogs, cats)it is very contagious.seek treatment for them if you do.

Answer 8

parvo is a killer and so is hookworm it could have cost the same to cure the hookworm if it was bad enough,You shouldnt feel bad the breeder should be the one feeling bad.Think about it they had to know that dog was sick.Stop feeling guilty.I have had a parvo dog and I stll have him now he is 14 and he had it when he was a baby.You do what you can stop feeling bad

Answer 9

Any test has a certain amount of false negatives, but it's very small with virus tests. Something else happened here - I'm guessing internal injury or poisoning. Tragic. Sorry to hear... No you don't have a lawsuit.

Answer 10

I have had two of my dogs catch parvo. One had to be put to sleep and one lived and is healthy and fine. I also live next door to a vet, and have two friends who work as vet technicians. I have never heard of a false positive, only false negatives when it comes to parvo testing. Sorry to hear of your loss. :(