Horrible news

[spiffy]

So sorry to hear about this bad news. Vibes sent. Praying for Lily's quick and full recovery.

[ChristineB]

Thoughts and vibes and prayers being sent to all the dog's suffering with this. Especially Lily!

[sassafras]

Originally Posted by Flyinsbt

As of a few years ago, there was a newer strain of parvo, CPV-2c, which vaccines might not be totally effective against:
http://vetmedicine.about.com/b/2008/...rus-strain.htm

Vaccines do provide some protection, but possibly not as well as against the older strains? I'm wondering if the current outbreak is that strain, or a newer one still. Or an older strain, I suppose, though it seems more likely to be CPV-2c, or something newer. I hope it is CPV-2c, because that one doesn't seem likely to become epidemic.

That article is from 2008. Vaccines have since been shown to protect against the 2c strain.

Honestly I suspect there's a lot more opinion and rumor at this point than actual facts about this outbreak. I find it kind of incredible that there are 200+ cases of a confirmed new strain of highly virulent parvo with a high mortality rate and I can't find any official or scientific information or sources to get more information.

Typing a new strain or subtype of a virus is not that fast or easy to do, and requires the participation of large numbers of affected dogs to determine. I just don't think it's even possible to have confirmed that at this point. Far more likely that people have just decided it's a new strain because a lot of dogs have been affected. Unfortunately I think it's far, far more likely to be just bad luck (outbreaks happen even in vaccinated populations) combined with faulty vaccination protocols (as already suggested by Grab) and probably some dogs breaking with gastroenteritis after the show that were assumed to be parvo but really weren't.

Not that I wouldn't pull my dogs from an event, but it would be more of an emotional reaction on my part than a rational one. Parvo IS scary, nobody wants to knowingly expose their dog to it - but OTOH we are all unknowingly exposing our dogs to it all the time just because it's so ubiquitous in the environment.

In any case, I wish the affected dogs and puppies a speedy recovery. It's just an awful disease. I just don't like to see more panic over something than is warranted.

[LostAndConfused]

Originally Posted by OwnedByBCs

She is being cared for at a clinic, and unfortunately is doing even worse today than yesterday. Hopefully things start to improve soon.

The Border Collie people showed their true colors and are starting a hissy fit about people who decided to pull their entries. Lily's owner, who is new to showing and this breed, has been told that she should have kept the information to herself, and that because she came forward, she is directly responsible for people pulling their entries and may be kicked out of her local breed club. I don't think they can actually do that, but its still ridiculous and shows how vicious people can be. If anyone is willing to risk their dog's health for a major, they are no friend of mine.

(((Vibes))) for the poor girl & her people. Parvo is a very scary thing to deal with.


That's so unfortunate that BC people are like that. Not a good way to attract & keep new people.

[Aleron]

Originally Posted by sassafras

Not that I wouldn't pull my dogs from an event, but it would be more of an emotional reaction on my part than a rational one. Parvo IS scary, nobody wants to knowingly expose their dog to it - but OTOH we are all unknowingly exposing our dogs to it all the time just because it's so ubiquitous in the environment.

This is exactly my feelings on it. It's scary because it's a known but people don't give much thought to how often their dog is exposed to Parvo in the environment. This is a big reason that dogs are vaccinated for the disease because you can't really avoid exposure to it. Even if your dog never leaves home, you can bring it in on your shows or wild animals can track it into your yard. Which does make it scary but the truth is, most fully and properly vaccinated dogs are protected.

Originally Posted by sassafras

In any case, I wish the affected dogs and puppies a speedy recovery. It's just an awful disease. I just don't like to see more panic over something than is warranted.

Same here. It makes me so sad to think about anyone's dog suffering through Parvo. I also would really hate to see people who were at this show months or more from now continuing to be blamed for "spreading Parvo all over the country" because they happened to be somewhere that a known Parvo puppy was. There is a lot of misinformation out there about the disease, the very best thing you can do is to do your own research and make sure the information is from reliable sources. Parvo is scary but not knowing the facts about it makes it even scarier.

[Lyzelle]

I honestly wonder if it is the speculation of bad vaccine or speculation about the facts in general that is leading people to not investigate further. With many things about Parvo known, and many dogs are protected against it, many people would jump to the under-concerned train and let it be until it did get out of control. I think first-person opinions do matter here, and those opinions need to be pushed more in order to get SOMEONE started on this. It's far better than telling everyone that "Parvo is Parvo" and "nothing to be concerned about". I think that's actually worse than all-out panic. At least with panic, it pushes people to get the truth faster.

I want to know more, personally. We'll be taking another road trip in March, and DH comes into contact with a lot of people with dogs. The chances of it getting tracked into the house is high, and I don't want Zander getting sick. Not to mention all the dogs I don't know having the possibility of getting sick.

Parvo is a horrible thing to suffer through. I wouldn't want any dog getting it, anywhere. And I hope those affected currently recover soon.

[smkie]

Considering if I am not mistaken that parvo had mutated before it became a dog virus, it would not surprise me if it did again. My heart goes out to any animal suffering such a painful horrid sickness. I hope there are answers soon, I hope it doesn't come here. I never ever want to see it again, nor nurse an animal through it, or see another baby dies from it.

[porchpotty]

I hope she survives. I lost one of my Labs before due to Parvo. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

[Renee750il]

Originally Posted by OwnedByBCs

The Border Collie people showed their true colors and are starting a hissy fit about people who decided to pull their entries. Lily's owner, who is new to showing and this breed, has been told that she should have kept the information to herself, and that because she came forward, she is directly responsible for people pulling their entries and may be kicked out of her local breed club. I don't think they can actually do that, but its still ridiculous and shows how vicious people can be. If anyone is willing to risk their dog's health for a major, they are no friend of mine.

And, if no one had come forward and people hadn't pulled their dogs from the event, and it had run through a whole segment of the best breeding dogs someone would get blamed for ruining the breeding programs.

She did the right thing. Right by the dogs and right by the people who actually love their dogs.

The rest of 'em need to re-examine their priorities.

[Aleron]

Originally Posted by Lyzelle

I honestly wonder if it is the speculation of bad vaccine or speculation about the facts in general that is leading people to not investigate further. With many things about Parvo known, and many dogs are protected against it, many people would jump to the under-concerned train and let it be until it did get out of control. I think first-person opinions do matter here, and those opinions need to be pushed more in order to get SOMEONE started on this. It's far better than telling everyone that "Parvo is Parvo" and "nothing to be concerned about". I think that's actually worse than all-out panic. At least with panic, it pushes people to get the truth faster.

IME panic tends to pushes people to act unreasonably, which is what I have been seeing online for the past few weeks concerning this topic. What is needed here is critical thinking.

The reason I and some others are asking questions concerning information about the claims there is "a new strain of Parvo that vaccines aren't effective against" is because the same thing is said at least once every year. Any time well cared for puppies/dogs get Parvo, people seem to think it must be a new strain. Any time a dog older than the typical age gets Parvo, people seem to think it must be a new strain. Any time a puppy or dog gets very, very sick with Parvo, it is suspected that it must be a new strain. There doesn't have to be a new strain to cause any of these things. Having 200 fully vaccinated older puppies and dogs getting Parvo in one small area does bring up questions. So far, all I have found was that 3 puppies at ASCA came down with Parvo and there were about 250 puppies entered. Not sure how accurate the entry numbers are, I found them mentioned on someone's blog. But the reference to 3 puppies seems consistent with everything I have found so far.

I don't think anyone has said Parvo is nothing to be concerned about. Just that the idea that your dogs are at risk of being exposed to Parvo if they are in contact with dogs which were at this specific show is a bit off base. Parvo is everywhere and it is concerning, which is why dogs are vaccinated for it. Blaming people who happened to be at a place where a known Parvo puppy was for spreading the disease across the country is a rather extreme view. As is hoping that these people's dogs don't bring Parvo into your area. Consider that your dogs have already been exposed and that they will continue to be exposed. Worry about Parvo and do your research but also understand this case is just scary because you know. The guy standing in front of you at the store might have a Parvo puppy at home, the mailman might track it the virus from someone's yard into your's, a puppy shedding the virus may have just been at your local park or any other number of scenarios. Around the time my puppies had Parvo, I pulled my adult dogs from a huge local show held at our fairgrounds. But honestly, there are coyotes around the fairgrounds and our area certainly isn't low risk for Parvo. My dogs being there or not was not putting other dogs at risk any more than they already were, it was just a known risk vs. unknown.

Puppies/dogs who get Parvo can have anything from very mild symptoms to very severe. The degree of severity, is not an indication of the strain they have or that there is a new strain. I had a litter of six barely 6 week old, unvaccinated puppies with Parvo. Of those puppies, 2 had severe symptoms and one of those two didn't make it (and I can't even tell you how heartbreaking that is) and the other took the very longest to recover, 2 had moderate symptoms and recovered fairly quickly, 1 had more mild symptoms and recovered quickly as well, one didn't have any symptoms at all. That is pretty normal and in no way would suggest the ones who were the most ill had a different strain of the virus than the more mildly affected.

Parvo is very much a concern and I don't see that changing any time soon. It's everywhere, it's extremely hardy, it has plenty of hosts and there is no sign that it will ever be eradicated.

Originally Posted by smkie

Considering if I am not mistaken that parvo had mutated before it became a dog virus, it would not surprise me if it did again. My heart goes out to any animal suffering such a painful horrid sickness. I hope there are answers soon, I hope it doesn't come here. I never ever want to see it again, nor nurse an animal through it, or see another baby dies from it.

If it had mutated to the point where it was a new disease, it seems like there would be more word about it. Even if it was just to say "we appear to be dealing with a new, Parvo-like virus but have not yet identified it. The last time there was a new strain of Parvo, AVMA released a statement and FAQ about it. And that new strain was only very slightly modified from previous strains.