Aero explained that this is the first time the disease has manifested in her puppies. She recalls that the puppies first lost appetite started vomiting whitish fluid and presented with a smelly blood discharge before their subsequent deaths.
Dozens of puppies in Gulu
City have succumbed to the parvovirus
disease, which attacks puppies aged
between four weeks and six months. The disease presents with loss
of appetite, vomiting, and
diarrhea with smelly
bloodstains.
The disease has been
reported within Gulu City in recent weeks. Beatrice Aero, a dog owner in Tegwana Parish,
Pece-Laroo division told URN on Monday that the disease has claimed five of her
thirteen puppies that were about one month old.
Aero explained that this is the first time the
disease has manifested in her puppies. She recalls that the puppies first lost
appetite started vomiting whitish fluid and presented with a smelly blood discharge before their subsequent
deaths.
//Cue
in: ‘’ocako ngok kare…
Cue out: …weng gu too.’’//
Dickson Odongkara, another affected dog owner, says that
the “strange”
disease killed thirteen of his
three-week-old puppies last week. Like Aero, Odongkara says that the puppies
presented with similar conditions before deaths much as they had been
vaccinated and dewormed.
//Cue in: ‘’gini
gikwanyo…
Cue out: …pien onywal apar.’’//
The pet owners who say that it is the first time
they are witnessing the disease among their puppies want urgent intervention from the
City veterinary department. Francis Okello, the Project Manager for the
Animals` Program at The Big Fix Uganda,
says that Parvovirus is a dangerous disease that attacks and kills
puppies.
//Cue in: ‘’puppies
are normally…
Cue out: …they, they
die.’’//
He explained that the disease is transmitted through the oral routes
(mouth and intestine). Okello noted that there is no particular treatment for
the disease that can
only be prevented through vaccinating all puppies from 6 weeks, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks with Parvo
vaccines.
He added that the doctors only manage the
conditions by giving IV fluids and giving glucose to give them energy so that
they can overcome the conditions.
//Cue in: ‘’the only
way…
Cue out: …overcome the
condition.’’//
Last week, the Big Fix Uganda vaccinated 180 dogs
and four cats against rabies in Bardege-Layibi division, Gulu City. Parvo
disease, which
is caused by a virus is highly contagious and spreads through direct
contact with an infected dog or contaminated objects.
Puppies are exposed to parvovirus every time they sniff or
consume infected feces. A puppy in Gulu City costs between Shillings 30,000 and 100,000 depending
on the size and breed.