Dogs have always been our humans’ loyal companions, so more and more people around us keep dogs as pets, and they can add more color to our lives. But pets, like us, can get sick. There are still many people who don’t know much about canine distempe...
Dogs have always been our humans’ loyal companions, so more and more people around us keep dogs as pets, and they can add more color to our lives. But pets, like us, can get sick. There are still many people who don’t know much about canine distemper, so today I’m going to educate you on the causes of canine distemper.
Canine distemper is an acute, contact infectious disease caused by the canine distemper virus. It is highly contagious. When a dog with low resistance directly or indirectly comes into contact with the feces, urine, secretions and other items of a sick dog, it is likely to be infected with the canine distemper virus. Therefore, when raising dogs, you need to take preventive measures, inject canine distemper vaccine according to the vaccine program, reduce the chance of the dog coming into contact with other sick dogs, and thoroughly disinfect the environment where the dog lives regularly.
1. Direct contact infection
If the dog has not been vaccinated, it will be easily infected after coming into contact with a dog suffering from canine distemper. However, it does not mean that you will develop canine distemper as long as you are exposed to the canine distemper virus. Whether you will suffer from canine distemper mainly depends on the strength of the canine distemper virus strain and the dog's resistance to the canine distemper virus. Generally, dogs who have not been vaccinated in the puppy stage are at the greatest risk of getting sick.
Therefore, in order to reduce the risk of dogs contracting the disease, it is recommended that owners vaccinate their dogs against the disease when they are 45 days old, and then vaccinate their dogs once every 21 days. After two consecutive vaccinations, high-concentration antibodies can be produced, and then a booster vaccination can be performed once a year.
2. Indirect contact infection
Canine distemper is an infectious disease and is extremely contagious. The main route of transmission is the respiratory tract, followed by the digestive tract.
1. If you encounter a dog that has been infected with the canine distemper virus in an area where dogs are densely raised, droplets such as sneezing and saliva can be inhaled into the body by healthy dogs together with the air, causing infection.
2. If a healthy dog licks something that has been licked by a dog infected with canine distemper, the canine distemper virus will be transmitted to the healthy dog through saliva.
3. If an owner has been in contact with a dog suffering from canine distemper in an outdoor environment and then touches his own dog, he will indirectly transmit the virus to his own dog.
Therefore, owners should strengthen the feeding and management of dogs, pay attention to the cleaning of kennels, food bowls, etc., and try not to take dogs to places where pets gather. However, the best prevention method is to vaccinate against canine distemper virus.
