Cases of the deadly parvovirus have risen in Orange, and they're now emerging in "unusual" circumstances.
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Leading veterinarian at Canobolas Family Pet Hospital, Dr Lisa Brisbane said although parvo cases are more common in puppies, the clinic has treated a handful of unvaccinated canines in their adult years.
"The last couple of months we've had an increase in incident of parvo and in the last six to eight weeks we've had around four or five adult dogs, that haven't had their vaccinations done, actually contract parvo," she said.
"Which is a little bit more unusual and if left untreated, they always die. It's always fatal."
Parvo is a highly contagious virus and while an outbreak isn't rare during the summer and autumn seasons, it's far less likely to be contracted by adult dogs versus their puppy counterparts.
And although a one-off vaccine won't completely protect a dog (or human, for that matter) from viral infections, Dr Brisbane said ongoing treatment does offer a no-fail success rate.
While parvo-infected dogs can make a complete recovery, the rate of survival also takes a significant blow for those with zero antibodies.
"There is a very effective vaccination against parvo which, if dogs are kept up to date with their vaccinations, is 100 per cent protective," she said.
"With treatment, many [unvaccinated] dogs will get through it, but there's no guarantee that if you do treat them that you'll get them through it, there's no guarantee at all.
"Even with all of the intensive treatment and care, some of them you do still lose occasionally, some of them can still pass away from it."
- Dr Lisa Brisbane on 'no guarantee' of dog's winning parvovirus battle.
The rigorous treatment that's required isolates the infected dog from all other hospitalised animals due to the disease's contagiousness.
Some canines need plasma transfusions due to the virus attacking the dog's immune system, which leaves protein or white blood cell counts severely low.
"They're all on intravenous fluids, often on intravenous antibiotics and on lots of drugs to stop them from vomiting," Dr Brisbane said.
"Usually they'll have hot, bloody diarrhoea as well, so a lot of the treatment that we're doing is supportive treatment to prevent dehydration while their immune system tries to clear the virus.
"Because it's a viral infection, there's no actual 'anti-viral product' that's specific against it, so a lot of the treatment is designed as supportive care.
"And they're often in hospital anywhere from three to 14 days depending on how severe they are."
Which stands to reason why veterinarians urge owners to take the prevention route to vaccinate their dogs, as opposed to what's involved in the aftermath.
Considering the associated costs with medical intervention teamed with the reality of death as a worst-case scenario, it seems a small price to pay in comparison.
"The message is that this really is a case of prevention being better than cure, it's always better to deal with parvo that way than it is to treat them," Dr Brisbane said.
"It depends on which vet clinic you go to, but generally vaccination for it might cost you anywhere between $100 to $150.
"But to treat for parvo is probably going to cost you anywhere between $1000 and $10,000."
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