Some Arizona animal organizations and veterinary clinics are seeing an uptick in parvo cases.
Parvo is a highly contagious and sometimes fatal virus that attacks a dog's intestines. While hundreds of thousands of cases occur every year in the United States, primarily affecting unvaccinated puppies, veterinarians typically expect to see increases during the spring and summer months.
Dr. Michele Estheimer, a veterinarian at Tangerine Pet Clinic, said she's never seen an outbreak like this in November or December.
"We're starting to see what we think is a mutation,” Estheimer explained. “This is a highly replicating DNA virus, very prone to mutations.”
She started hearing about these cases in the last couple of weeks, including in a couple of adult dogs.
"I've had as old as a four-year-old unknown, or questionable, likely unvaccinated history that's been parvo positive. So we're seeing it in a different population, rather than just the young puppies," Estheimer said.
With the unknown nature of possible mutations, Estheimer recommends ensuring dogs are up to date on vaccines.
"If there's any break, it's not going to hurt your dog to revaccinate. If there's a question, obviously, talk to your veterinarian, make sure that that's appropriate for your pet," Estheimer said.
She said she would avoid dog parks during this time, and she takes precautions like wiping her dog's paws.
"Avoiding high congregations of dogs, because you just don't know if there's an unvaccinated dog to put your dog at risk, right now with what we're seeing - not to be an alarmist, it's just not really worth it to me," Estheimer said.
Symptoms can include diarrhea, lethargy, loss of appetite, and high fever.
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