Dog Viral Infections & Diseases

An infectious disease is a clinically evident disease resulting from the presence of pathogenic microbial agents, including pathogenic viruses, pathogenic bacteria, fungi, protozoa, multicellular parasites, and aberrant proteins known as prions. Many of these pathogens causes diseases and death both on animals, plants and human. Many dog viral infections and diseases have been discovered, most of them affects dogs in their puppyhood causing your death and some carried over as they age and suddenly affects our canine companion. It is better to know them, prevent them and how properly deal these dog viral infections.

Rabies. Hydrophobia or rabies is fatal viral disease that can affect any mammal, although the close relationship of dogs with humans makes canine rabies a zoonotic (transmitted by animals) concern. The rabies virus makes its way to the brain by following the peripheral nerves. Rabies is a viral neuroinvasive disease that causes acute inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) in warm-blooded animals, it is fatal if left untreated. In some countries it is a significant killer of livestock. The symptoms starts with malaise, headache, and fever, while in later stages it includes acute pain, violent movements, uncontrolled excitements, depressions, and the inability to swallow water. final stages, the patient begins to have periods of mania and lethargy, and coma, and death generally occurs due to respiratory insufficiency. Vaccination of dogs for rabies is commonly required by law.

Canine Parvovirus. It is a contagious virus that mainly affects dog. The disease is highly infectious and is spread from dog to dog by direct or indirect contact with their feces, puppies usually suffer severely if they are not protected by maternal antibodies or vaccinations. Cardiac and intestinal form were the distinct presentation of the virus. Intestinal form signs are sever vomiting and bloody diarrhea while cardiac form causes respiratory or cardiovascular failure in young puppies. Main treatment involves veterinary hospitalizaion and can be prevented with vaccinations.

Canine Coronavirus. A gastrointestinal disease that is usually asymptomatic or with mild clinical signs, the disease is highly contagious and is spread through the feces of infected dogs. The virus invades and replicates in the villi of the small intestine and causes death of cells. Coronavirus infection of the intestinal villi makes the cells more susceptible to parvovirus infection. Puppies are more susceptible to this virus and needs vaccinations. Treatment usually only requires medication for diarrhea, but more severely affected dogs may require intravenous fluids for dehydration.

Canine Distemper. A serious virus that mostly affects domesticated animals like dogs, cats, ferrets and more. Canine distemper virus (CDV) spreads through the aerosol droplets and through contact with infected bodily fluids including nasal and ocular secretions, feces, and urine. Puppies from three to six months old are particularly susceptible. Canine distemper virus tends to orient its infection towards the lymphoid, epithelial, and nervous tissues. Number of vaccines are available against canine distemper, and antibiotics for bacterial infections of infected dog and usually quarantined from other dogs for several months due to the length of time the animal may shed the virus.

Canine Influenza. A newly emerged infectious virus causing respiratory diseases, which discovered caused by varieties of Influenzavirus A such as H3N8 (equine virus) and dogs have no natural immunity with this virus and can be epidemic. Dogs with the more severe form may have a high fever and pneumonia, they need immediate veterinary attention.

Infectious Canine Hepatitis. Is an acute liver infection in dogs caused by canine adenovirus spread through feces, urine, blood, saliva, and nasal discharge of infected dogs. Symptoms include fever, depression, loss of appetite, coughing, and a tender abdomen. Corneal edema and signs of liver disease, such as jaundice, vomiting, and hepatic encephalopathy, while severe cases will develop bleeding disorders, which can cause hematomas to form in the mouth. Most dogs recover spontaneously without treatment bu prevention can be done through vaccinations.

Canine Herpesvirus (CHV). A fatal virus most importantly causes a fatal hemorrhagic disease in puppies less than two to three weeks old while the virus infects the reproductive tract of adult dogs and cann sexually transmitted. CHV is transmitted to puppies in the birth canal and by contact with infected oral and nasal secretions from the mother or other infected dogs. Symptoms include crying, weakness, depression, discharge from the nose, soft, yellow feces, and a loss of the sucking reflex. Treatment of affected puppies is difficult, although injecting antibodies to CHV into the abdomen may help some to survive. Keeping the puppies warm is also important.

Pseudorabies. An infectious disease that primarily affects swine, but can also cause a fatal disease in dogs with signs similar to rabies. Other domestic and wild mammals, such a cattle, sheep, dogs, pigs, raccoons, black bears, panthers, coyotes and deer are also suscetible. PRV can cause abortion, high mortality in piglets, and coughing, sneezing, fever, constipation, depression, seizures, ataxia, circling, and excess salivation in piglets and mature pigs. In dogs, symptoms include intense itching, jaw and pharyngeal paralysis, howling, and death.

Canine Minute Virus. An infectious disease that can cause respiratory and gastrointestinal signs in young puppies. Dogs and puppies are infected orally, and the virus is spread transplacentally to the fetuses. Symptoms are seen most commonly between the ages of one to three weeks and include severe diarrhea, difficulty breathing, and anorexia. In severe cases it is fatal.