QUESTION: Can you prevent Canine Distemper?
ANSWER: You can prevent it in puppies and dogs. Vaccination is the generally used and best available prevention for canine distemper.
Canine Distemper is a severe and deadly contagious disease. At ABVC, we’ll consider distemper infection any time a puppy/dog is feverish and has signs of widespread infection.
While the typical case is not difficult to diagnose, the characteristic signs sometimes fail to appear until late within the disease. The infected dog may have other viral and bacterial infections that may complicate the picture. In case your dog has been in contact with an infected one, or he visited an area where a positive dog has been seen, we do recommend you to book an appointment with our vets in Al Barsha Veterinary Clinic Dubai to discuss the various possibilities we can offer. Blood work and other tests may be required for screening or confirming the diagnosis just in case we have clinical suspicion. One of those is a distemper rapid test on a conjunctival or nasal sample.
With the potential increasing virulence of emerging strains and the wide host range of canine distemper viruses, widespread vaccination of domestic dogs is essential. Vaccination is the generally used and best available prevention for canine distemper. Puppies should be vaccinated when they are 6 weeks old and so at 3 to 4-week intervals until they’re 16 weeks old. Depending on your dog’s activity we will recommend an appropriate vaccination schedule for your pet taking into consideration the health of your pet, the frequency of the disease in your area, and other risk factors. Using Vacci-check tool, we can determine at ABVC if the vaccination status of your dog is satisfactory and if it is not the case we would recommend you give him a booster.
Even if the vaccination is extremely protective, one should bear in mind that the distemper virus could change its structure and escape to the immune system. This can be one possible explanation for the current distemper outbreak in Dubai, UAE.
Shedding may persist for as long as 4 months in recovered dogs, although shedding is greatly reduced following complete resolution of clinical signs. Recently recovered dogs ideally should be adopted directly from the location of treatment rather than being mixed in with a general shelter population. At a minimum, these dogs have to be kept separated from puppies (including puppy training classes) and far from unvaccinated or immunosuppressed dogs for a full four months following recovery or until confirmed negative CDV Test. Nasal swabs should be taken at a minimum of two weeks after recovery. If negative, the dog is presumably not shedding the virus in significant quantities and is not a threat to other dogs (as with any test, false results are possible; careful sample handling is a must).
Treatment is intended to limit bacterial invasion, support fluid balance, and control nervous system problems. Antibiotics, fluids, supplemental feedings, fever or pain medications, and anticonvulsants are used as appropriate for the individual dog. No single treatment is particular or uniformly successful. Dogs may recover completely from the infection, but prompt, aggressive care is crucial. Even with intensive care, some dogs do not make a satisfactory recovery. Unfortunately, treatment for the neurologic problems of the distemper is sometimes unsuccessful.
Control of distemper requires a combination of effective vaccination, quarantine, isolation, disease recognition, diagnostic testing, and environmental decontamination. We recommend you avoid walking your dog in the area in which positive dogs were diagnosed or let him be going in contact with a dog of an unknown origin.
Do not hesitate to contact us at the ABVC for further information about Canine Distemper symptoms, prevention, and treatment.
Written by ABVC veterinarians, Dr. Adnene Salhi and Dr. David Arnau Perez
