CANINE
PARVOVIRUS
FOCAL
POINT
-Aggressive
treatment can dramatically increase survival of patients
with canine parvovirus enteritis.
KEY
FACTS
-In-house ELISAs
allow for rapid diagnosis, but false-positives can result
when dogs have been recently vaccinated with attenuated
virus vaccins, and false-negatives can result when
antibodies from blood in the feces bind to
antigen.
-If serum
albumin drops below 1.5 g/dl or total protein decreases
below 3.5 g/dl, an untravenous colloid should be
given.
-Intravenous
bactericidal antibiotics are indicated for puppies with
neutropenia and hemorrhagic diarrhea.
-Antiendoroxin
should be given before antibiotics because endotoxins are
released as bacteria are killed.