Infectious Dog Diseases
Dog DistemperMost of these use to put the dog's life in peril, but with preventive inoculations we can prevent them. Dogs should be protected to face these mortal diseases.
How does dog distemper starts in dogs? Distemper is the common name of various infectious diseases produced by a virus, and is characterized by affections to the respiratory system, apart from nervous symptoms, and fever. Apart from immediate effects, distemper can have serious consequences in the long term. It spreads through close contact amongst dogs, frequently by urine, and first invades the tonsil and the closer lymphatic ganglions. In some cases, the dog's defensive mechanisms produce antibodies in this period, and beat the infection. In these cases, the dog feels ill, but recovers in a short time. If antibodies are not produced, the virus invades the body, and expands three weeks later. Some symptoms that may appear normally are: high temperature, diarrhea and vomiting, as well as some effects in the nervous systems in 50% of the cases. However, these may not develop till some years later; meanwhile, the virus remains in the spinal medulla and the brains. Under nervous tension, serious neurological symptoms will appear, from spasms to paralysis, and even nervous contractions of the face muscles. All these symptoms can be controlled, but others do not react correctly to treatment, and the dog has to be sacrificed sometimes for human reasons. Through an exam of his teeth, we can detect if a dog had distemper when a puppy, cause the virus gives the superficial covering a rough and brownish aspect, if the enamel was not completely developed when the infection occurred. Other symptom is a cracked and dry nose. Distemper symptoms are variable, depending on how much the infection has advanced, but any dog suffering of a generalized infection, is seriously ill.Is protection against distemper possible? |
