An Overview of Diseases Vaccinated for in the DA2PLPC Series: Part 1

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you didn’t vaccinate your puppy or dog? If so, this article and the ones to follow, will inform you about the diseases and symptoms that a dog or puppy can have, how those diseases make them sick, how to treat them and how they affect their health. I will start with the first vaccination which is the DA2PLPC, or as many call it, the eight-in-one. These are the core immunizations for the canine. Each letter or abbreviation stands for a disease and each number stands for the strand of that disease. The abbreviations stand for the diseases Distemper, Adenovirus type 2 (hepatitis), Parainfluenza, Parvovirus, Leptospirosis, and Coronavirus. There are many times the vaccination DA2PPC will be given, which is the same as the DA2PLPC but without the Leptospirosis. The DA2PPC is sometimes given at the first two puppy visits and at the third visit the DA2PLPC will be given.

The first disease in the DA2PLPC vaccination series, is Distemper. Canine Distemper is highly contagious and affects dogs of all ages. This disease also infects animals such as the fox, dingoe, coyote, wolf, jackal, ferret, mink, weasel, marten, skunk, badger, otter, raccoon, panda, kinkajou, coati and on rare occasions the Bengal tiger. If you live in an area that has a multitude of these animals, your puppy or dog is more prone to this disease because the virus is shed through body secretions, such as feces, saliva, urine, conjunctival and nasal exudates and through aerosols. It is very easily spread but is also very easily destroyed by drying, heat, disinfecting and ultraviolet light. In canines the infection rate is higher than the disease rate. This is probably due to the degree of natural and/or vaccine induced immunity. Of the dogs that are infected with this disease an estimated 25% to 75% develop only a subclinical infection and eliminate the virus without showing any symptoms. The virulence of the viral strain along with the age, breed and immunocompetence may influence the infection rate of the disease.

If a puppy or dog is infected with this disease and does not eliminate the virus, then the first signs that will be seen are symptoms that resemble those of an upper respiratory infection. This usually occurs 2-5 days after infection and sometimes progresses farther causing pneumonia and complications caused by a secondary bacterial infection. If the disease progresses farther, then fever, anorexia, depression, vomiting and diarrhea will occur within the 6^th – 9^th day of infection. If the disease is not improving within 14-21 days after infection Central Nervous System (CNS) signs may be seen. This may include personality changes, seizures, ataxia, circling, pacing, paresis and progressive paralysis. Some dogs may also develop problems such as dermatitis, retinal lesions and/or blindness and most commonly Hyperkeratosis, which is referred to as hard pad disease. If puppies are exposed to the disease and recover before the eruption of their permanent teeth, they will have pitted permanent teeth. This commonly occurs because of the lack of maternal antibodies at weaning age.

Diagnosis of the disease is usually by clinical signs, however there are tests that will help with diagnosis, but not all of them are accurate. The diagnostic tests that may be performed are blood work, radiography, cerebrospinal fluid analysis, electroencephalography and immunofluorescence of cerebrospinal fluid, blood and bone marrow.

The treatment of this disease is tough. There are no antiviral treatments, so systematic and supportive care is the best that can be done. The patient should be kept warm, clean and quiet, with a minimized stress level. The hydration status is monitored carefully and fluid therapy will be given if necessary with a balance of an electrolyte solution, potassium supplementation if anorectic and glucose to increase calorie intake. Systematic medications that may be given will be antiemetics to prevent vomiting, multicomplex B vitamins, expectorants for the cough and antibiotics if a secondary infection is present. There are no treatments for the neurologic signs. Seizures are sometimes attempted to be controlled by anticonvulsant, and may be needed for the remainder of the dog’s life if Epilepsy occurs. If the dog becomes paralyzed, it should be placed on a waterbed or sheepskin pad to decrease the occurrence of sores. The dog must be turned from side to side every couple of hours and the bladder must be expressed three times daily.

The prognosis of all animals that are treated for canine Distemper is guarded. Even in cases where the dog is recovering, a relapse may occur. The relapse may occur soon after the initial infection and treatment or later in the dogs’ life and is usually neurologic. When it occurs in older dogs, even those that have never had symptoms of the disease, it is referred to as ODE or Old Dog Encephalitis. This is why vaccinations are recommended annually to boost immunity. The mortality rate of dogs varies, but studies have shown that the boxer, Pekingese and Scottish terrier have a low mortality rate while the Samoyed, German Shepherd and Cocker Spaniel have a higher mortality rate.

Prevention is the key to avoiding these problems in your puppy or dog. The amount of maternal antibodies that the pup receives is determined by the amount that the mother or bitch has received. Vaccinating a pup that still has maternal antibodies is not necessary but there is no way to know when the maternal antibodies in that particularly pup start to decrease. It is because of this that vaccinations are started at 6-8 weeks and given every two to four weeks until 14-16 weeks of age. After this time the vaccination needs to be given annually to boost the initial vaccinations.

As you can tell this is a very serious disease to vaccinate your puppies and dogs against, but this is just one of the diseases that is included in the DA2PLPC series. In the next three articles I will explain the rest of the diseases in this series. I hope you have enjoyed reading this article and I hope you will look for the ones to come.

Kami Guy CVT