Warning after rise in cases of deadly dog virus

A TOOWOOMBA veterinarian says the resurgence of a deadly dog disease in the city is enough to “send a shudder down a vet’s spine”.

A TOOWOOMBA veterinarian says the resurgence of a deadly dog disease in the city is enough to "send a shudder down a vet's spine".

In the past few weeks, Toowoomba Family Vets owner David Hall has seen an increasing number of parvovirus cases in puppies brought to the clinic.

Parvovirus is a contagious illness in unvaccinated puppies and dogs, which is often transferred through being outdoors.

"The reason it's so scary for vets and pet owners is it strips the lining of the intestines, causing the inability to absorb nutrients," Mr Hall said.

"It also causes terrible diarrhoea, haemorrhagic diarrhoea and vomiting.

"One of the earliest signs is dogs going off their food."

PROTECT PETS: Toowoomba Family Vets owner David Hall is calling on residents to protect their puppies from parvovirus by staying up to date with vaccinations.

Mr Hall said his clinic usually saw one case of parvovirus a fortnight, but lately they had been treating close to a case a day.

He said vaccination was the best defence for puppies and dogs, as treatment for the disease was expensive.

"It can be treated and managed with very aggressive IV fluids and antibiotics, and they are treated in an isolation ward of our hospital as the illness is very contagious," he said.

"For those reasons it becomes a very expensive illness to treat, from $3000 to $6000 depending on how sick the animals are.

"Unfortunately this isn't always something a pet owner can achieve and a very sad part of our job is euthanasing a lot of puppies that come down with this disease."

Mr Hall said owners could bring their puppies to Toowoomba Family Vets to get the parvovirus vaccination.

The clinic is operating as normal, with slight changes to fit in with government coronavirus restrictions.