Parvo

[lilangel]

From what I understand, Parvo is in the environment. It lives and thrives in soil on the ground, in the country, in the city, everywhere. It is not something that one can really ever "get rid of" in an effective or realistic way. It is up to the dogs being bred, their breeders, vets and owners to either through selective breeding, vaccination of sire and dam and maintaining a relatively clean environment to keep pups Parvo free. They have to create antibodies with which to fight off the organism either through vaccination, low level exposure or via inheritance. Cleaning areas where known carriers have urinated and defecated can help but it is by no means a guarantee that other pups or dogs will stay Parvo free. It is everywhere.

Also, AFAIK, saying certain breeds are prone to this virus is erroneous and tantamount to fear mongering. It helps vets sell more vaccinations. Back in the nineties, city vets were insisting on 6 Parvo shots for APBT pups. That is after the initial vaccination cocktail because the breed is "prone to parvo". Breeds are not prone to Parvo. Irresponsible owners and breeders who do not vaccinate against Parvo are leaving the gate wide open so to speak. It is a geographic (socioeconomic/ education) issue at its core. Thus, pits and rotts trend towards being "parvo prone" because some of their breeders and owners tend to either concentrate or sell their pups in underserved communities and they are not educated about how to best care for their dogs. It could be Poodles or Goldens but these are not generally the breeds sought by people in lower income areas. I'm sure there are other factors involved but from what I have seen, discussed, experienced, it is more of an educational issue than a biological one and can be reversed to some extent through outreach.

Vets and breeders or other experienced with this organism please chime in. This is just what I understand to be true.

How do those with pups and dogs suffering this horrible virus best care for their dogs, besides immediate vet care? What are some effective home remedies and such? Anyone used herbal remedies or preventatives??

[Leslie H]

http://www.pitbullforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=60232

[Misskiwi67]

There was some evidence of rottweilers and pit bulls being more susceptible to parvo in the 80's, but there is not any evidence to that effect since, and there is mention of this in the most recent AAHA vaccine guidelines.

Low-level exposure and selective breeding will do NOTHING to help prevent parvo. When exposed, the virus replicates rapidly in fast-growing cells (heart in very young dogs, intestines in all other dogs), and completely destroys the intestinal lining, resulting in the disease we see.

Parvo does not thrive in the environment, it only exists. Parvo requires an organism to replicate in to reproduce. It does, however, have a membrenous protective layer than allows it to live for very long periods of time (months to years) in appropriate environments, such as soil.

Appropriate vaccination is the only way to prevent parvo, but even our best protocols leave maturing immune systems susceptible to the disease. This is not a disease we will ever get rid of, but we are getting much better at treating it, and when the owners are able to provide hospitalization, success rates are very high (90% survival.)