Parvovirus-Like Symptoms Seen in Michigan Dog Deaths – Everyday Health

Many of the dogs that died weren’t properly vaccinated, according to Michigan officials investigating the fatalities.
Michigan authorities are investigating a mysterious illness that has killed more than 20 dogs this summer, often striking puppies or younger animals and killing them within a few days.
All the animals died in Otsego County from what officials described as a parvovirus-like condition, the Otsego County Animal Shelter said in an August 19 post on Facebook. The dogs had typical symptoms of parvovirus like vomiting and bloody stool, but tested negative for this virus, according to shelter officials.
“We have not seen any dogs that die that are PROPERLY vaccinated,” the shelter said in the social media post. “If you do not know if your dog is PROPPERLY [sic] vaccinated or what PROPERLY vaccinated is contact a/your VETERINARIAN.”
Young puppies are highly susceptible to infection, and may need a series of vaccinations during their first few months of life to protect against parvovirus, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). Puppies may get some immunity from their mothers’ milk but have a gap in protection before they are fully vaccinated when they may still get infected. The AVMA recommends all puppies, regardless of vaccination history, get a dose of parvovirus vaccine between 14 and 16 weeks old.
Before this, pet owners should limit how much time puppies spend in places where other puppies congregate, like pet shops, parks, doggy day cares or kennels, the AVMA advises. Good dog-care providers will also try to reduce exposure by accepting only dogs that are vaccinated.
Parvovirus is highly contagious and commonly causes acute gastrointestinal illness in puppies, according to the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. Most often, it strikes puppies between 6 and 20 weeks old. While a vaccine released in the late 1970s has helped to curb infections, outbreaks are still common, according to Cornell.
A parvovirus diagnosis can be confirmed with fecal testing, which can be done in a veterinarian’s office in about 15 minutes, according to Cornell. This test is fairly accurate, but dogs who have the virus can sometimes test negative for it if their stool samples are collected later in the course of illness, according to the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
While no drugs target this condition, dogs can be treated with intensive fluid regimens to prevent dehydration as well as medications to control vomiting and diarrhea and to prevent additional infections, according to AVMA.
One of the challenges in preventing the spread of parvovirus is that symptoms may not surface until about one week after dogs are infected, according to Cornell. Besides nausea and vomiting, other symptoms can include lethargy, depression, lack of appetite, and the sudden onset of a high fever.
Earlier in August, the Otsego County Animal Shelter issued a public service announcement about a number of dogs that had been sickened with what officials suspected might be parvovirus.
“There have been many dogs over the last month that have gotten sick with what appears to be parvo (throwing up, bloody stool),” the shelter said in an August 9 post on Facebook. At the time, shelter officials expressed some uncertainty around the cause of these illnesses, particularly because the dogs had all tested negative for parvovirus.
Most dogs died within three days and most of them were under 2 years old, the shelter said. Some of the sickened dogs were vaccinated.
“We really don't know anything,” the shelter said on August 9. “The only thing is to make sure your pets are vaccinated and at the first sign of illness get to the veterinarian.”
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