Canine Parvovirus Has Killed Dozens of Dogs in Michigan

UPDATE: Officials identified the virus as canine parvovirus.

***Previous reporting

Michigan Officials are racing to identify an illness that has killed dozens of dogs in the last month in the northern and central parts of the state’s Lower Peninsula.

The unidentified illness, which causes acute gastrointestinal problems, had caused at least 30 canine deaths in the northern section of the state, animal control officials told USA Today.The virus is believed to have come from Louisiana and generally kills young dogs within three to five days, officials said. Symptoms include bloody diarrhea, vomiting and lethargy.“The state is in a panic right now,” Clare County animal control director Rudi Hicks told the Clare County Cleaver. “There’s no cure. There’s no vaccine because they haven’t identified it yet.”

While the virus is described as “similar to parvo.” Some dogs tested positive for parvo while others did not. The Michigan State University diagnostic lab is helping to investigate the cases.

The affected dogs in Otsego County have generally been dogs under 2 years old or elderly, the county shelter said.”We have not seen any dogs … die that are PROPERLY vaccinated,” the shelter’s Facebook post reads.Routine canine vaccinations include those against parvovirus, and dog owners should make sure their pets have the vaccine, the agriculture department says.Canine parvovirus is spread by dog-to-dog contact and contact with contaminated feces and environments, the veterinary medical association says. It is not contagious to people or other types of animals, the state agriculture department said.

Reports indicate that a similar virus struck animals in Mexico.

Elisa Mazzaferro, an associate professor at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, said while they have not seen cases like the ones described in northern Michigan, an emergency clinician in Mexico City has.”Canine parvovirus attacks rapidly, dividing cells, including those of the gastrointestinal tract, and leads to vomiting and diarrhea …,” she said.

Tags: Medicine, Michigan, Science

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