A deadly canine virus is sweeping through Victoria’s Gippsland, and has killed more than 10 pet dogs in just weeks. Canine parvovirus (PVC) is a problem globally, but the recent flare up in Latrobe Valley has prompted urgent calls to pet owners in the eastern state, as experts fear the painful disease could continue to spread.
The deadly disease can spread wildly among unvaccinated dogs, especially younger ones, carried on the bottom of people’s shoes, and from traces of dog poo left in the park.
“Parvo”, as the virus is often called in Australia, painfully destroys the gut and intestines of the infected dogs, resulting in gastroenteritis, hemorrhagic diarrhoea, vomiting and dehydration.
Newsletters: Breaking news as it happens. Subscribe now
Of the 20,000 cases found in Australia each year, nearly half result in death.
In the Latrobe Valley where an outbreak is currently taking a heartbreaking toll, Moe Veterinarian Centre vet Dr Laura Thorbecke told 7NEWS.com.au that after a decade living in the Gippsland: “I’ve never seen parvo like this before.”
At the two clinics Thorbecke owns in the region, including Moe, she said more than ten dogs have been killed by the virus in weeks.
“There’s evidence that it’s spreading locally,” Thorbecke said.
At Traralgon Vet Centre, also in Latrobe Valley, veterinarian Dr Katrin Sievers told 7NEWS.com.au they’ve also seen PVC fatality numbers high enough to prompt community warnings from the clinic “since the beginning of the year” but added they have been “taken half-heartedly”.
She said any figures from veterinarians “underestimates what is happening” and noted that many owners of infected dogs will not take their pets to the vet at all.
Because of the biosecurity risk management involved in treating PVC-infected dogs, Sievers said some dogs have to be turned away due to the limited spaces available. But due to the cost of treatment, some pet owners leave the clinic on their own accord.
Sievers recalled the owner of one PVC-positive dog who recently presented at her clinic before its owner abused staff, refused to pay, and drove away with the dog.
“We don’t sleep, we go home worrying about these pets,” Sievers said, adding that the outbreak was also having “an intense physical and emotional toll” on vets in the area.
If current sentiments toward vaccinations persist, Sievers and Thorbecke fear the local outbreak could get much worse.
Even isolated dogs are at risk
Symptoms of PVC include lethargy, depression, and a lack of appetite, followed by high fever, vomiting, and diarrhoea.
But before symptoms emerge, there is an incubation period during which “they can look healthy and normal and go around spreading the disease before they really deteriorate,” Thorbecke said.
“Once it’s out there in the community, it can be quite long-lasting. So, once an environment is contaminated with parvovirus — via an infected dog defecating, for example, at the dog park — it can be present for a really long time.
“People walking in the street can then bring home contamination on their footwear to dogs at home.
“So, even dogs that aren’t seeing other dogs, or dogs that aren’t leaving their property, can still be at risk.”
Because avoiding contaminated environments is almost impossible during an outbreak, Thorbecke said the best way to protect your pooch is to ensure they are vaccinated against PVC.
“If people don’t remain vigilant, this could be an ongoing problem for our area for quite a while,” she said.
Vaccination, the only effective measure
In a 2020 survey of 20 veterinary practices in five Australian states, 79 faecal samples from infected dogs — all between one and 96 months old, with a median age of four months — only 3.7 per cent of the dogs were up-to-date with their vaccine schedules.
Another 49 per cent were incompletely vaccinated and 47.2 per cent were unvaccinated.
Sievers said a “frustrating” factor behind PVC outbreaks, is that they are largely increased by people who do not take financial responsibility for the health of their pets.
PVC outbreaks happen, quite often in rural and regional locations, among unvaccinated dog populations, but dogs getting routine annual checks “will almost always be given a parvo vaccine, or be covered against parvo,” Thorbecke said.
Thorbecke advised pet owners to check with their vets to find out whether their dog has been protected against the virus.
A vaccination for PVC ranges from clinic to clinic, but at Traralgon Vet Centre in Latrobe Valley it’s about $100.
While that figure might seem steep for someone who is not considering any preventative health costs for their pets, Thorbecke warned: “It costs a lot less to prevent it than to treat it.”
A grim choice for pet owners
Treatment for a dog with PVC can cost thousands, and it doesn’t guarantee they’ll survive. Instead, pet owners are often left to make a grim decision — cough up the funds, or euthanise the dog.
When 534 Australian veterinary clinics were surveyed in 2018 to find the financial impact of PVC, they reported that of the 20,661 cases in 2015 and 20,110 in 2016, the overall reported euthanasia rate was 41 per cent.
In Latrobe Valley, Thorbecke said that’s even higher. “It’s the majority of dogs, in our experience,” she said.
“The majority of dogs that come in with parvo get euthanised because they have it, rather than treated.
“Often this is a decision made on financial grounds, as much as anything.
“It’s a really sad reality.”
For pet owners who are nervous about bringing a healthy dog into a clinic during an outbreak, Thorbecke advised they call their local vet to work out a vaccination solution that keeps their pet safe.
