DISTEMPER: VETERINARIANS SEEING MORE DISEASED DOGS

Cases of canine distemper are on the rise in Southeast Missouri. Pet owners and those interested in buying a dog are cautioned to make sure animals get regular vaccinations.

Local veterinarians say the increase is likely due to the cyclical nature of the disease. Although the increase is of little surprise to veterinarians, that doesn't make it easier for them or those whose pets get the disease.

Beth Knott, a student at Southeast Missouri State University, and her husband, Michael, know. Their 4-month-old dog, BeBe, died two weeks ago.

"It' was very hard and very sad," Beth Knott said. "She went through 13 days of hell, and I was in tears almost every day."

Dr. Karen Bangert, veterinarian at Skyview Animal Clinic, said: "We do see a lot of distemper in this area. I would say it cycles up and down; it's on the up cycle right now."

Bangert said veterinarians in other parts of the state sometimes do not see cases of distemper for years. "In Southeast Missouri we see it rather consistently," said Bangert.

Dr. John Koch, veterinarian with Cape Small Animal Clinic, said the University of Missouri, which does autopsies on pets, reports that 80 percent of dogs show signs of having been exposed to the distemper virus.

"The virus is continually with us," said Koch. "From time to time a particular virus gains increased virulence and we end up with pets who show clinical signs of distemper.

"It's only when the virus gets particularly potent that it becomes a full-fledged disease of serious consequence," he said. "That is definitely the case now. We have been seeing more of this disease for the past four or five months."

The disease is often deadly. Bangert said, "Some dogs do recover, although the percentage is very low."

Feline distemper is a different disease affecting cats, Koch said. He said he has seen no marked increase in feline distemper.

The best defense for distemper is to have pets vaccinated, starting at 6 weeks of age and continuing every three weeks until the animal is 4 months old, and then continue a regular routine of vaccinations.

Bangert said: "Every dog needs to be vaccinated because of the possibility of casual contamination. If another dog in the neighborhood has the disease, it can pass it along.

"The vaccine is very effective, but it does need time to work," Bangert said.

Koch said: "Even if a person follows that guideline, it's still not foolproof. But it's as good a protection and as safe as we can be.

"Distemper is a virus," Koch said. "Antibiotics kill bacteria, but we don't have anything to kill a virus.

"Once an animal gets the virus, what we do is help maintain the strength of the animal and hope their systems are strong enough and the virus is weak enough that the pet can fight it off."

Koch said usually the animals that get the disease are weak or young.

"Even when they have been vaccinated, they may not be protected thoroughly enough," he said. "In the face of a challenge, puppies still come down with it."

Koch said distemper often takes weeks or months to run its course.

"People are kind of left hanging," he said. "A lot of people feel very strongly about not letting their pet suffer needlessly, but we can't tell if the pet will recover. One day it could be better but then the next day worse.

"Eventually the puppy will either recover or die," Koch said. "But it can be a several-month process."

The distemper virus starts off like a respiratory infection. The puppy might sneeze, cough, and act like it has a cold. The disease progresses to something more like pneumonia.

"Animals may respond somewhat to medication, but they never totally get rid of it," Koch said. "Eventually it settles in the nervous system. Where it settles and how much damage is done is the deciding factor."

Pets may suffer blindness, an inability to smell or hear, a nervous twitch, seizures, convulsions or paralysis, depending of the seriousness of the disease.

"In many instances the virus will do such a small amount of damage that it is not even detected," Koch said. "That's what the University of Missouri means when it says 80 percent of the dogs show signs of the disease."

The Knotts adopted their dog from the Humane Society. "We took her within two days to the veterinarian to get her health certificate," Knott said. "The vet checked her out and said she seemed fine. Distemper is a funny disease; you can't always tell right away."

Eight days later the dog began experiencing cold symptoms. "She began sneezing so hard her nose had blood in it. The night before I took her to the vet she had what I thought was the chills. It was really a seizure."

Despite medical treatment, the dog's seizures got worse prompting the Knotts to choose death by euthanasia for their pet rather than let her suffer.

Koch said no supplier of pets is immune from passing on a diseased animal. Koch said the animals he has seen this fall have been from all different sources: the Humane Society, pet stores and private breeders.

"I believe humane societies, pet stores and breeders are doing a good job trying to provide those vaccinations," he said.

"The problem we have with puppies is stress. They are weaned and taken from mom and then placed in a strange environment, a shelter or pet store. That makes them a lot more susceptible to the virus. Stress can mean the vaccine does not provide sufficient protection."

Koch said when selecting an animal, pick a vigorous, plump puppy or kitten. He also advised that the pets be purchased or adopted subject to inspection by a veterinarian.

Nancy Richards, shelter administrator for the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri, said the shelter does not vaccinate every animal for distemper.

"We wish we could, but we can't," she said. Because of the high number of animals at the shelter, the cost would be prohibitive, she said. "We have to look beyond and see which are going to likely be adopted," she said.

The shelter has started a new procedure to help protect puppies. Once the dogs are vaccinated, they are kept isolated for three days to give the animal a chance to begin building some resistance.

"After three days they go into the kennel with the general population," she said.

Richards said shelter employees are always on the lookout for signs of distemper or other illnesses.

"The hard part is that dogs may carry the virus for seven to 14 days without showing any signs of the disease. Other animals are exposed during that time," she said.

"All the animals are checked daily," Richards said. "If we see one who is a little listless or not very active, we take it inside and take a closer look. The animal could just have a cold or an upset stomach."

Richards said the shelter has had very few reports of distemper in animals adopted from the facility.

Knott said: "It's nobody's fault what happened, but I'd just like people to be aware of the danger. People should make sure their animals are taken care of; not just puppies, but dogs as well. It's very sad to lose a family pet."

The Knotts bought another dog Tuesday. "It's not that we don't trust the breeder, but I have taken the dog to the vet, and we are having it reinoculated."