Canine parvo viral enteritis in dogs: Diagnostic and therapeutic evaluation

A total of 110 dogs presented to Teaching Veterinary Clinical Complex, CSKHPKV, Palampur (H.P.), India with the history of enteritis/gastroenteritis were screened for Canine Parvovirus (CPV). Out of these 110 dogs, 48 dogs were found positive for CPV by using Scanvet - a rapid antigen detection kit. All the 110 samples were subjected to Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) to check whether there were some cases that were false positive or false negative by Scanvet. Positive cases were, then, divided into 4 groups of 12 dogs each, with 4 different treatment regimens followed for each group. In addition to standard treatment protocol, our study tested effect of immunomodulators (Vitamin E & Selenium) and antiviral “Oseltamivir” on recovery of dogs. This type of study (using Oseltamivir and immunomodulators) was not done previously in the state and hence, our aim was to test whether this treatment increases survivability and recovery rate for dogs with Parvoviral enteritis in Himachal Pradesh. Groups containing immunomodulators were more efficacious than their counterparts without immunomodulators. Addition of Oseltamivir and immunomodulators to standard therapy resulted in reduced mortality, cessation of diarrhoea and vomiting earlier than routine therapy. Scanvet diagnostic kit was found to be a quick alternate method for diagnosis of Parvo Viral Enteritis. Overall, the group treated with antibiotic+ supportive+ symptomatic+ antiviral treatment along with immunomodulator displayed promising results.

Keywords: Dogs, parvo-virus, severe disease, treatment, diagnostic methods, antiviral