What you need to know about canine distemper

Distemper is a potentially lethal virus that attacks dogs and other domestic animals like cats and ferrets. It can also affect wild animals like raccoons. If you have a dog or want to adopt one in the future, you should know about distemper.

Transmission
Distemper is a highly contagious disease. It can be transmitted through respiratory droplets expelled from the nose and mouth by coughing and sneezing. It can also spread through contact with eye secretions.

Symptoms
The symptoms of distemper vary from animal to animal because the virus targets both the nervous and respiratory systems. If your pet is infected, it could exhibit some of the following symptoms:

• Aggression
• Conjunctivitis (pink eye)
• Pacing
• Diarrhea
• Nasal discharge
• Rash
• Fever
• Lethargy
• Loss of appetite
• Excessive salivation
• Spasms or convulsions
• Coughing
• Vomiting

Many infected dogs don’t exhibit any symptoms but are still contagious.

Treatment
Unfortunately, there’s no antiviral cure for distemper. However, your veterinarian may prescribe antibiotics, anticonvulsants, or intravenous fluids to treat your pet’s symptoms.

Prevention
Veterinarians recommend all dogs should be vaccinated against distemper. The sad truth is that many unvaccinated dogs needlessly die from the infection or develop serious and irreversible side effects.

You can protect your faithful companion by following the advice of your veterinarian.