Re: Distemper case?

Dinu Catilina — Sun, 05 Jan 2014 21:12:33 GMT

Hi Tracey

We used to see tens of cases every year and the purulent ocular/nasal discharge was see in almost every case. If your pups are 7 weeks old I would probably look at something else. At this age we used to see parvovirosis, then distemper at 3-5 months of age and coronovirosis at 6-8 months of age. Of course there were exceptions as well.

Re: Distemper case?

Tracey Carlisle — Fri, 03 Jan 2014 22:09:15 GMT

Hi Julian

So purulent conjunctivitis seems to be a fairly obvious clinical sign. Hope we are dealing with kennel cough then .Looks like these 2 are being hospitalised at my home for the time being anyway!!!

Thanks.

Re: Distemper case?

Julian Earl — Fri, 03 Jan 2014 21:53:32 GMT

Hello Tracey,

Although we don't see distemper in these rural parts, well I'veseen one or two in twenty-plus years anyway, but when I worked in the north-west I used to see hundreds. Every three to four years, an outbreak would strike and we could see ten or more cases per day sometimes. One could recognise them when they walked through the door to be honest. Purulent eys and nose, usually with eyelids held closed together as though bright lights hurt, a cough usually, sometimes sickness and/or diarrhoea, often a pyrexia of between 103F to 105F, and dull. A significant number, maybe 5 to 10% would develop neurological signs early in the disease, and often before other signs apart from the oculonasal ones had develioped. Characteristically one would hold the dog's head with one palm over the temporal and masseter muscles and could feel the spasmodic twitching very early in the disease. Bad, bad, prognosis then of course.

I would tell people 50% will die although we used to use Maxagloban, the antiserum, and I never had a dog die if that was used early in the disease-course. It was prudent to tell owners that that record wouldn't last forever! Otherwise, broad-spectrum antibitotics, , nursing but never-ever hospitalise them! Maxagloban was always quite expensive especially for the north-western, council estate distemper dogs.

HTH