A severe illness is affecting unvaccinated puppies in Esperance. Photo: online.
Several cases of the highly contagious parvovirus have been detected in dogs in Esperance and vets are urging owners to vaccinate against the preventable, yet deadly disease.
Esperance’s Swans Veterinary Services have identified 10 cases of the severe gastrointestinal virus in unvaccinated puppies since mid-April.
Swans vet Dr Katie Kreutz said parvovirus required intensive medical care and did not always come with a guarantee of survival.
“Many of them have either been euthanised on humane grounds because their status has been beyond recovery or because of the financial incursion for treating parvovirus,” Dr Kreutz said.
“They were all within the age where they could’ve been vaccinated so they were all older than six weeks old, with some older than five or six months, and hadn’t received their first vaccination yet.
“It’s devastating for our team as well as their owners.”
Parvovirus spreads through contaminated faeces and can last up to two years in the environment alone.
Dogs commonly become infected through sniffing, licking and playing but they can contract it from inanimate objects too, such as tainted shoes.
Dr Kreutz said the disease was 100 per cent preventable through vaccinations.
“If the dog has received at least two of their initial vaccines – up to 12 weeks old – the chances of them getting parvo is less than two per cent,” she said.
“We normally recommend a further vaccination for the rest of that percentage just to make sure they are completely covered.
“Vaccinations are an excellent and simple way to make sure your pets are covered – there’s really no reason not to do it.”
She said she saw many pet owners who were hesitant to vaccinate their dogs but said dogs who were not vaccinated were “quite likely” to contract the virus because herd immunity did not exist at present.
“I think most of them understand the risk that they perceive is far outweighed by the benefit of covering them for that,” she said.
Dr Kreutz has worked in Esperance for seven years and said the parvovirus came in waves.
She encouraged pet owners to keep up with vaccinations beyond this spate to prevent future cases.
“We have these massive outbreaks… everyone gets very concerned and vaccinates their dogs and then we see a lull for a period of time where everyone’s up to date on their vaccinations,” she said.
“As time goes on people can forget about it and let things slip and then you get these massive outbreaks because we have these populations that are unvaccinated.”
The Swans Veterinary Clinic has been offering a discount on parvovirus vaccinations which will be available for another week.
