Edison Battles and Survives Parvovirus

By John Morgan | Dated June 1, 2020

While the world battles and adapts to COVID-19 it is important to spare a thought for a devastating puppy virus. Parvovirus is an often fatal disease that affects young puppies. The main symptoms are watery, bloody diarrhoea, dehydration, lethargy and not eating.

Edison is a sweet Cocker Spaniel puppy who presented to Gordon Vets for loose stools with blood that developed a few days after he moved in to his furever home. He wasn’t eating food, was extremely flat and didn’t want to play as he had been when he first arrived. It was discovered on a faecal test that Edison was positive for Parvovirus and he was hospitalised immediately. Fortunately, at Gordon Vet Hospital there is a purpose built isolation ward to keep all the other dogs from catching infectious diseases like this. He was placed on fluids and intravenous antibiotics and made a swift recovery.

Edison after recovery from his nasty case of Parvovirus.

There have been reports of this disease affecting may dogs in Northern NSW in recent months, however we are always on the lookout for cases in the Ku-Ring-Gai area as there are often hot spots.

While some dogs (like Edison) can get symptoms of disease after the first vaccination we find the likelihood of serious infection reduces with 3 puppy vaccinations. We also strongly advise with keeping up with adult vaccinations as this helps us gain “Herd Immunity” against Parvovirus which means it is less likely to transmit between older animals that may only show mild symptoms or none at all.