The canine herpesvirus is a viral disease that affects any dog, but special attention must be paid to newborn puppies, since in these it can cause death if symptoms are not detected in time and sufficient recommended prevention measures are not taken. This pathology is present mainly in farms and can cause multiple alterations in the fertility of females and in the life of newborns.
If you want to prevent your dog or you think he may be affected, keep reading this article on our site in which we explain the contagion, symptoms and preventionof canine herpesvirus
What is canine herpesvirus?
The canine herpesvirus (CHV) is a viral agent that affects dogs, especially newborns And that can be deadly. This virus was detected for the first time in 1965 in the United States and its main characteristic is that it does not support high temperatures (+37ºC), which is why it usually develops in puppies, since they usually have a lower temperature than dogs. adult dogs (between 35 and 37ºC).
But canine herpes virus not only affects newborn puppies but can also affect older puppies, female dogs, with different symptoms pregnant or adult dogs. The cause of this virus is an Alphaherpervirus that contains a double strand of DNA and can survive up to 24 hours depending on humidity and temperature, although it is very sensitive to the external environment.
This infectious agent is present mainly in canine kennels where 90% of dogs are seropositive, that is, they are affected by the herpesvirus but have not developed its symptoms, which means they can spread it to other dogs as well.
Forms of contagion of canine herpesvirus
The transmission routes by which the canine herpesvirus is spread are:
- Oronasal route
- Transplacental route
- Venereal route
Canine herpes virus is spread by the oro-nasal route when the puppies are inside the mother's uterus or during the passage through the birth canal due to the bitch's vaginal mucosa, which may be seropositive or well, having been infected during pregnancy, where transmission will be transplacental since the placenta will be affected by this virus. In this case, the puppies can die at any time during the pregnancy, producing abortions in the female. Newborn puppies can also be infected up to 10-15 days after delivery if any other mucosa of the dog enters the puppy's body, for example the nasal mucosa when breathing near them. Canine herpesvirus can also be spread by the venereal route if an infected or seropositive dog has sexual intercourse with a he althy female.
Canine herpervirus infection symptoms
Newborn puppies severely infected with canine herpesvirus will exhibit several critical symptoms of infection:
- High-pitched moans produced by severe abdominal pain
- Breastmilk starvation wasting
- Stools more liquid and yellow-grey in color
- In the last stage, nervous signs, subcutaneous edema, papules on the abdomen and erythema appear.
- In 24-48 hours the disease will be fatal.
In affected litters, mortality will be approximately 80% and if there are survivors, these puppies will be latent carriers and may have sequelae irreversible nervous disorders such as amaurosis, ataxia and cerebellar vestibular deficit.
In older puppies the symptoms of infection will cause secretion of the virus through saliva, eye discharge, tears, expectoration, urine and feces. These can also present conjunctivitis, rhinopharyngitis and even kennel cough syndrome.
The symptoms of pregnant dogs due to canine herpesvirus will be infection of the placenta and the production of abortions, premature births or fetal deaths.
In adult dogs, the symptoms of this viral agent are similar to those of older puppies, and may thus present mild conjunctivitis and rhinitis. But it is also possible that the genital organs of the animal are also temporarily affected with the appearance of vesicles on the mucosa of the vagina in females and with lesions on the surface of the penis in males.
Canine Herpesvirus Prevention
As the only vaccine currently on the market against canine herpesvirus, it can only be administered to affected pregnant females so that their antibodies increase considerably at the time of delivery and in the following days, and thus transfer the puppies through the colostrum and survive, prevention is the only solution against this viral disease. Therefore, it is recommended to adopt the following preventive measures:
- Take sufficient precautionary measures during breeding.
- Recourse to artificial insemination to avoid venereal infections.
- Quarantine pregnant females 4 weeks before, during calving, and 4 weeks after
- Isolate litters of newborn puppies for the first 10-15 days
- Control the body temperature of neonates to be between 38-39ºC with the help of heat lamps, for example.
- Take sufficient hygienic measures in the places where the dogs are going to be, because the canine herpesvirus is very sensitive to disinfectants.
