Distemper is an infectious viral disease particularly affecting puppies under 6 months from dog farms, hawkers and poor pet shops. It can also affect unvaccinated or improperly vaccinated dogs (ie not vaccinated by a qualified veterinarian or out of date vaccinations) who come into contact with infected dogs.

There is no specific treatment for the disease, and to recover the puppy needs to mount

a strong immune response against the virus. If the puppy cannot do this then the virus will win and the puppy will die. The survival rate for 3-4 month old puppies is around 50 %.

The immune response, and therefore the survival chance, is affected by many factors including age, protection from mother, vaccination history, stress, nutritional status, concurrent disease as well as individual variation.

Your vet will give you an opinion on your dogs chances for survival but this is not definitive : for example the signs of brain damage can occur in dogs that only had mild initial signs of the disease.

The disease is infectious to other dogs that are not fully vaccinated. It is not infectious to cats or humans (but is infectious to some other species such as ferrets)

The incubation period is 14-18 days, so a puppy may appear completely healthy at purchase but develop the disease later. The disease cannot be detected during incubation.

CLINICAL SIGNS.

Initially the puppy may show some or all of the following signs: sneezing and coughing, purulent eye or nose discharge, red eyes, vomiting, diarrhoea, anorexia and depression.

As the disease progresses the breathing may become difficult, the puppy will lose weight and the footpads may thicken.

The most serious stage is caused by the virus reaching the brain. This causes brain damage resulting in twitching, convulsions, walking problems and stupor.

These signs of brain damage can appear months or even years after the dog has recovered from the first stages.

TREATMENT.

There is no "anti-distemper" medication, treatment is symptomatic and supportive.

Making the puppy eat and drink is very important as dehydration and hypoglycaemia are often involved in the death of a puppy. Your vet can help you with feeding methods if the pup will not eat but intravenous fluids (a drip) may be necessary.

If the breathing is very congested, try putting the puppy in the bathroom while a hot shower is running. The steam may help to clear the breathing.

PREVENTION. Buy an older dog who has already started the vaccination course, or get a pup from a friend, when you know the mother is vaccinated or the pup has not been in contact with other dogs. SPCA dogs are good choices.

Do not let your dog come into contact with other dogs unless it is fully vaccinated.