Editor鈥檚 note: This story has been updated to reflect additional information from the D.C. Department of Health鈥檚 surveillance for canine parvovirus.
WASHINGTON 鈥� There have been 24 confirmed cases of canine parvovirus cases between June and October, enough to prompt聽a聽warning from D.C. health officials who are now urging dog owners to take precautions.
Parvo, as it鈥檚 also known, usually hits puppies and older dogs.聽It鈥檚 a gastrointestinal disease, spread by contact with the vomit or feces of an infected dog. The first symptom is usually fatigue, followed by a lack of appetite, vomiting and diarrhea (often containing blood).
People can鈥檛 get parvo聽and neither can other animals. It鈥檚 treatable, but it can be fatal if left untreated.
There鈥檚 no way to officially compare the number of parvo cases in D.C. against figures from prior years. Up until August, the health department had only tracked rabies. Only tracking rabies is considered聽a national standard for small animal surveillance,聽D.C. Department of Health聽spokesman Marcus Williams says.
But the agency decided to start “proactively” tracking parvovirus after . The health department聽has also started聽tracking聽canine influenza and canine leptospirosis, Williams said.
Williams says feedback from local veterinarians suggested that there were more cases of聽parvo聽this summer聽and fall than usual, an increase substantial enough to warrant an alert to the public.
鈥淭hey thought those numbers were kind of high,鈥� Williams tells WTOP.
So on Wednesday, warning of 鈥渁n increased鈥� number of canine parvovirus cases between June and October.
Katy Nelson, a veterinarian also known as Dr. Pawz, calls parvo 鈥渙ne of the worst viruses that we face in veterinary medicine.鈥�
It leaves dogs unable to digest nutrients, and so 鈥渢hey do tend to sort of wither away.鈥�
The good news is there鈥檚 a vaccine, and Nelson says it鈥檚 highly effective. The bad news is dogs have to reach a certain age before they can get it.
鈥淪o some of the pets that we鈥檙e seeing recently that are acquiring parvovirus are too young to have received the vaccine. And others are ones that have perhaps had one vaccine but not yet had their boosters …”
鈥淪o whether it鈥檚 in a dog park situation, [or] it鈥檚 in a breeder or a shelter situation, it鈥檚 these young pets that have not been fully vaccinated against it yet that are the ones that are the most susceptible.鈥�
If your dog has any of these immunity problems, Nelson says, 鈥渕y best advise is to stay away from dog parks and other areas where they could encounter other pets鈥� feces 鈥� it鈥檚 probably best to just kind of keep them at home until this problem has resolved itself.鈥�
Nelson adds that the D.C. health department 鈥渉as said that they are going to start a cleaning process of these dog parks, but they鈥檙e going to have to be very highly aggressive about it.鈥�
If you think your dog might have parvovirus, Nelson says you need to act.
鈥淭his is not one to sit on and worry about. This is one that you want to get to your veterinarian immediately.鈥�
And if the results are positive, in addition to treatment you鈥檒l need to do some serious cleaning, Nelson says. The virus can live for more than six months, and 鈥渕ost of our cleaning products do not kill this virus.鈥� A veterinarian can help you figure out the best way to clean, she says.
WTOP鈥檚 Liz Anderson contributed to this report.
