Parvovirus questions

[dragondawg]

My son recently got an 8 week old German Shephard puppy.
He actually got him on last Saturday and the puppy was throwing up but he thought it was because he was car sick. Since then he'd eat but something vomit after a couple of hours. Today he went to the vet and has been diagnosed with Parvovirus. He had received a parvo shot at 6 weeks old. Someone mentioned that sometimes the parvo shot can actually cause parvo. Has anyone ever heard that? I can't find any information saying that.
Right now he's been admitted to the vet clinic and we're hopping he'll recover, poor baby.
I'm thankful that we haven't met the puppy so my dogs haven't been exposed even though they are up to date on their shots. Does anyone know how long my sone's yard and home will a danger to my dogs and how long we will have to avoid visiting there without the dogs?
Thanks very much

Parvo vaccinations do not cause Parvo, unless the immune system is seriously compromised already. The Parvo vaccines are modified live virus. The dead vaccines have very little efficacy, especially in puppies.

The reason there is this mistaken believe that the Parvo vaccination can cause disease is illustrated in your puppy's case. He received his first shot at 6 weeks, and 2 weeks later it has Parvo. It's easy to jump conclusions.

The problem with Parvo vaccinations is that only upwards to 25% of puppies have lost the protective maternal antibodies they absorbed through the colostrum and milk. What happens when you give the live vaccine still protected by maternal antibodies? The maternal antibodies inactivate or kill the virus before the puppy's immune system can create an immune response or antibodies of its own. The result is that the vaccination does not take. In your case the puppy was subsequently exposed to Parvo in the intervening 2 weeks, the maternal antibodies had disappeared or were too low, and the puppy had no antibodies of its own.

The maternal antibody problem is why puppies are given multiple vaccinations against Parvo. As the puppies age they are more likely to have lost the maternal antibodies at the time of the next vaccination. There are cases where the maternal antibodies persist long enough to interfer with the entire puppy shot schedule of 6-9-12 weeks. That's why it's recommended to get the 1 yr booster. In your case you didn't get to that point.

Parvo infection or successful Parvo immunization is thought to last for a life time. Although most Vets, including my own are still recommending revaccination every 3 yrs. If an adult dog even one previously not immunized gets Parvo it's usually mild and sometimes not even evident. The virus does better in the faster dividing intestinal cells of a puppy. The other factor for older dogs is that the virus is readily carried by adults, and is endemic to dog populations. Thus there is constant exposure and immune response to the virus in the environment. In your case, there was more danger of your adult dogs infecting the puppy instead of the other way around. As Catlady suggests, that's why its important to limit a puppy's introduction to adult dogs until its shots are complete.

Your quick response in getting the puppy to the Vet should help give a favorable outcome.

[Pom mommy]

Thanks to all for the information. I didn't feel the shot would be the reason the poor puppy got parvo but just wanted to ask anyway.
The breeder he got the puppy from only has the one litter and at this time none of the others are sick. She's taking them to the vet tomorrow to be checked according to her. She had told my son the puppy had a sensitive stomach and vomited easily so we think he was probably sick for a few days at least at her house. Why none of the others are sick I don't know.
The vet called him this evening and said the puppy is doing well on his IV so we're hoping that he'll recover but its still very early in the treatment.
I'm going to give him the information on the Kenic Parvo-lan128 to rid his carpets and car upholstery of the virus. I'm scared to go near his house at this time because as someone said having the shots don't guarantee my dogs are not going to get it if we walk or sit where its contaminated.

[angelchampy]

The rescue I'm with saved 16 puppies. However, one right after the other started getting sick. We rushed them to the vet, some were positive for parvo, some weren't. The ones that weren't had to be separated and watched very closely. Unfortunately, we were all holding them and transporting them. It is a known fact that if you are holding a dog with parvo, the disease is on your clothes and shoes. Since they were being juggled, many got it. I'm not saying they all got it that day, b/c they were rescued all together. But I would make sure the clothes that were worn are washed in hot water and the shoes in bleach. Also, bleach the floors. It is highly contagious. Unfortunately, we lost 7 of the 16 babies.

[cyber-sibes]

We'll keep all paws crossed that the pup will recover. They had a parvo outbreak at our local shelter and all the dogs were quarantined for two months. You couldn't even go in to look at them. (We were looking for a dog at that time) I'm glad the breeder is having the rest of the pups tested. As mentioned, the virus can stay alive for a long, long time, so everyone must be persistant with follow up care & cleaning. Best wishes!

[dragondawg]

Thanks to all for the information. I didn't feel the shot would be the reason the poor puppy got parvo but just wanted to ask anyway.
The breeder he got the puppy from only has the one litter and at this time none of the others are sick. She's taking them to the vet tomorrow to be checked according to her. She had told my son the puppy had a sensitive stomach and vomited easily so we think he was probably sick for a few days at least at her house. Why none of the others are sick I don't know.
The vet called him this evening and said the puppy is doing well on his IV so we're hoping that he'll recover but its still very early in the treatment.
I'm going to give him the information on the Kenic Parvo-lan128 to rid his carpets and car upholstery of the virus. I'm scared to go near his house at this time because as someone said having the shots don't guarantee my dogs are not going to get it if we walk or sit where its contaminated.

It's not usual for some litter mates to have higher levels of maternal antibodies and to be protected for a longer period of time. So yes you can have some puppies very sick with Parvo while other siblings will show no signs. Eventually as the Parvo persists in the environment the others will pick it up as the maternal protection decreases. I could even foresee a situation where the others may have mild to severe forms of the disease if constantly exposed as the maternal antibodies decrease.

[wolfsoul]

My Visa's nephew, Jasper, developed parvo after reciving his parvo shot. When he was returned to my cobreeder for a "vaccine reaction," he was exposed to my dog and her littermates. They were fine until they recieved their parvo shot, which weakened their immune systems, and they developed parvo too. My dog was the first to get sick at 4 weeks of age. This is why I do not believe in maternal antibodies -- I've heard too many cases of young puppies catching viruses. My dog's mother had her parvo vaccination that year and titered well six months before the litter. Yet the entire litter caught parvo at 4-5 weeks of age. Also, parvo tests are not accurate! The puppies in the litter that tested negative for parvo were the ones that died, even though they were treated for parvo and seperated from the other puppies.

Just keep vigilant -- clean everything! All you can do is hope and pray. It's a terrible virus but it's getting easier to treat with everything we know today. Don't worry about your dog's catching the parvo. If they've had their shots theyr are fine. Even so, after a year of age, most dogs are immune to parvo. Parvo is one vaccine that "sheds" itself from the dog after it's been given -- so dogs in contact with dogs who've just recieved a vaccine, or places that dog has been, is already exposed to the disease, and thus building an immune to it.