Distemper is a highly contagious viral disease of dogs and other animals such as raccoons, skunks, and ferrets. It is seen worldwide, but is more common in areas where vaccine rates are low and there are significant stray dog populations. It can persist in recovered carrier dogs and in wildlife. It is not curable and can be fatal. It affects many of the of the body’s systems, including respiratory, gastrointestinal, and central nervous. It is primarily spread through direct contact with an infected dog that’s showing signs. It can also be transmitted short distances through coughing and sneezing. Distemper has a variety of clinical signs because it’s a multisystem disease. The main symptoms are diarrhea, vomiting, cough, and a thick, yellow discharge from the eyes and nose. As the disease progresses, the infected animal will eventually start having seizures and develop other neurologic signs. Animals that recover from this disease often suffer lifelong neurologic affects, include muscle twitches and recurrent seizures. Distemper can be difficult to diagnosis, especially when signs first develops, because the symptoms mimic other illnesses (parvovirus, canine cough, etc). However, canine distemper is the only disease that causes all of the above symptoms at the same time. As with any viral infection there is no specific treatment. The virus itself needs to run its course, and the pet needs to be supported as its immune system does its best to combat the disease. The patient should be hospitalized on IV fluid therapy to correct and prevent dehydration and electrolyte imbalances. Antibiotics are administered to treat secondary bacterial infections. The pet may also need to be put on medications to control nausea and cough. As with so many things, distemper is a great deal less expensive to prevent than it is to try to treat! There is a vaccination available to protect your dog (and/or your ferret) from this terrible illness. It is included in the multi-virus vaccine offered through your vet, known as DHPP or DHLPP. At Effingham Animal Hospital, we recommend starting puppy vaccines at 6 weeks of age, and boosting every 3 weeks until he or she is at/past 4 months of age. Because there is still no definitive evidence on how long protection from a vaccine lasts, and every pet’s immune system is different, we still recommend an annual vaccine for adult pets in our area. We hope this post was interesting and informative. Please read this article for further information. If you have questions about your pet, please visit our contact page
