As many of you might have heard, there has been a Distemper outbreak in Dubai.
Distemper is a highly contagious disease with no cure and vets are now informing pet owners to be very careful.
What is Distemper?
As mentioned, Distemper is a contagious and very serious disease which affects the nervous systems of your dog and can be fatal.
How does it spread?
Dogs can be infected through airborne exposure like sneezing or coughing as well as direct contact with fresh urine, saliva and blood. It can also be transmitted by sharing toys or food & water bowls. Dogs that are infected can carry the disease with them for many months, which can even result in mothers transferring the virus to their puppies via the placenta.
What are the symptoms?
To start with, infected dogs usually get watery to pus-like discharge from their eyes. After that they develop a fever combined with nasal discharge, coughing, a reduced appetite, lethargy and vomiting.
As mentioned in the introduction, this disease affects the nervous systems which causes infected dogs to develop circling behavior, head tilt, muscle twitches, jaw chewing movements, thickened paw pads and even seizures as well as partial or complete paralysis.
Distemper is most often fatal or can leave your dog with permanent nervous system damage.
My dog is no longer a puppy, can he/she still get sick?
The answer is yes! Although puppies younger than 4 months are more likely to get the disease, any dog can get it even if they have been vaccinated.
What to do to prevent your dog from getting sick?
Don’t let your dog socialize with other dogs. I know this sounds harsh but it really is the best to keep a distance from other dogs.
Also make sure that your DHPPIL vaccination is up to date.
What should I do when my dog is showing any symptoms?
Go to the vet! Don’t try to be a Google doctor or ask other people on social media for advice, but go to your vet!
Your vet can do a test. In case your dog is diagnosed with the disease, your vet will assist with supportive care and will try it’s best to control vomiting or diarrhea as well as making sure your dog will not get dehydrated.
As mentioned, there is no cure for this disease so preventing is better than trying to cure!
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