Parvovirus spreading in UK – deadly dog illness with ‘horrible tell-tale smell’
A deadly disease affecting dogs has had a resurgence in parts of the UK, with vets warning pet owners of the tell-tale signs.
Parvovirus has been detected in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, and has also reportedly begun to spread through parts of Northern Ireland.
The illness affects dogs’ intestines and is picked up when a pooch comes into contact with infected vomit or faeces, BelfastLive reports.
READ MORE: Dog owner’s heartbreak as she’s forced to put down 5 pooches due to ultra-rare disease
Now vets are warning dog owners of the dangers of parvovirus as cases gradually rise.
Mel McKee who runs North West Animal Welfare Group in Limavady, Northern Ireland, is currently treating a case in her centre after a one-year-old Pomeranian named Oscar came in with the disease.
She said: “Parvo is a really horrible illness and most people who have dogs will know the horrible tell-tale smell that accompanies it.
“As soon as I met and smelt him I knew what I was dealing with so I rushed him down to the emergency vet and let them know I thought he was highly infectious to help them protect themselves.”
Cautioning canine lovers, she added: “Please make sure your puppy has all its first initial vaccines. Any vomiting/blood call the vet immediately.”
(Image: North West Animal Welfare Group)
“Parvo poop” can have a distinctive smell that differs from regular faeces – it is often slightly sweet and metallic.
The sickly-sweet smell can sometimes come from the dog itself as well.
Other symptoms of parvovirus include diarrhoea which may sometimes have blood in it, vomiting, fever or hypothermia, loss of appetite, bloating, weight loss, anorexia, weakness, dehydration and depression, according to the American Kennel Club.
The dog experts there also stress that some dogs are more at risk from the disease than others, including Rottweilers, Doberman Pinschers, American Staffordshire Terriers, English Springer Spaniels, German Shepherds and Labs – although any dog can contract the virus.
(Image: UIG via Getty Images)
Parvovirus is usually preventable with regular vaccines that start at six weeks old, but in rare cases such as that of thirteen-month-old German Shorthaired Pointer Murphy, even jabs didn’t stop him from needing intensive treatment.
Shaun Stead, 48, wife Michelle, 49, and son Taylor, 17, were on holiday in Tenerife when they received the worrying news from dog-sitters back home that their beloved pooch had started suffering from diarrhoea.
The family from Wakefield cut their trip short and came home to take care of their sickly dog, who was first treated at Springfield Vets in Rotherham before he was referred to Paragon in Wakefield to receive specialist treatment.
(Image: Paragon Veterinary)
Even though Murphy was fully-vaccinated, he was so weak that he couldn’t walk and needed a feeding tube for liquid medication, and ended up spending 9 days in intensive care.
Murphy is reportedly making a steady recovery, but without his jabs, his owners were warned he might not have made it.
“We got the next available flight home when our dog sitter told us about Murphy and cut the holiday short. It was a surreal situation. I’m 6ft 3in and a big bloke but I was in bits,” Stead said.
“If he hadn’t been vaccinated, there’s no way he would have survived.”
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