CLAYTON, Mo. – It’s being called the worst outbreak of canine parvovirus in St. Louis County history; one that’s cost the lives of more than a dozen dogs.
On Sunday, St. Louis County Executive Sam Page and Dr. Kanika Cunningham, director of the county’s Department of Public Health, provided a status update on the outbreak. The county executive is hopeful their actions have prevented the spread of the deadly virus.
No new cases of canine parvovirus have been reported at the St. Louis County Animal Care and Control Adoption Center since Friday, Page and Cunningham said.
The American Veterinary Medical Association said canine parvovirus is a highly contagious and deadly dog virus and is spread via dog feces. Symptoms of the virus include lethargy, loss of appetite, vomiting, severe and sometimes bloody diarrhea, and a fever. Puppies should be vaccinated against parvo at when they’re 6, 8, and 12 weeks old, respectively.
The first parvo case was identified at the adoption center on Saturday, April 19. The facility housed more than 200 dogs at the time. Page said dogs are often kept in close quarters. Meaning that by the time a positive test is confirmed, the disease has already spread to other animals.
Despite placing a quarantine on all the animals present in the room with patient zero, the county executive said several other cases eventually developed at the facility, prompting the county health department to halt all adoptions.
On Friday, the animal shelter announced that 19 dogs had been euthanized to prevent the spread of the virus. Only one parvo positive dog remains in their care, Dr. Cunningham said, but no new cases have developed.
The shelter has been able to procure supplies to treat the animals through other area shelters.
During the outbreak, Cunningham said they’ve consulted out-of-state veterinarians and in-state animal health authorities, and followed guidelines and best practices from the ASPCA, the Association of Shelter Veterinarians, and shelter medicine programs from the University of Florida and the University of California-Davis.
In the past week, Cunningham said 32 healthy animals were transferred from the shelter to other places to prevent the spread of parvo, but 185 dogs remain at the county shelter. The adoption center is asking other shelters to reach out if they can take in health dogs.
The facility has undergone thorough cleaning but is not yet ready to reopen to the public, Cunningham said.
In the meantime, Page stressed that anyone who has recently adopted a dog from the county keep a watchful eye on their pet to see if they exhibit any signs of parvo. If they do, Page said it’s important to isolate that animal from other pets and get them to a veterinarian as soon as possible to get them hydrated.