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Two confirmed cases of parvo forced the Duplin County Animal Shelter to close its doors to dog intakes and adoptions for three weeks. On October 23, Duplin County Animal Services announced the situation on its Facebook page. “Due to two positive cases of parvo, the shelter will be closed to visitors and intakes for dogs for 21 days,” the post reads. “No visitors will be allowed in dog confinement areas.”
Both of the dogs were already quarantined for bites, Duplin County Animal Services Supervisor Joe Newburn told the Duplin Journal. “But as a precaution, we shut the shelter down — just the dog areas,” he added. “Parvo doesn’t affect cats.”
Parvo is a highly contagious virus among dogs that can be spread by direct contact with an infected dog or indirect contact with a contaminated object, like a food or water bowl, collar, leash, or even the hands and clothing of people who have handled infected dogs, according to the website for the American Kennel Club.
“Parvo is really, really contagious,” Newburn said. “I can say that it’s transmitted by feces. That means you can be outside, step in it, and then go inside your house and transmit it to your dogs if they aren’t vaccinated.”
The Merck Veterinary Manual states that the canine parvovirus can “persist indoors at room temperature for at least two months; outdoors, if protected from sunlight and desiccation, it can persist for many months and possibly years.”
That’s why Duplin County Animal Services staff acted quickly to clean and fully disinfect the shelter, and quarantine the dogs that were in the shelter at the time of the contamination. The quarantine ended on Monday, Nov. 6, and on Nov. 7, all dogs were required to leave the shelter. “All of the [dogs] must leave the shelter, either by being adopted, rescued, or euthanized,” Newburn said, “because the shelter has to be dog-free for at least a week.”
Luckily, all six of the dogs were either rescued or adopted, Newburn said.
The shelter will remain closed for seven more days after all the dogs have left, with intakes resuming on Monday, Nov. 13. In the meantime, shelter staff were “disinfecting every day, three or four times a day,” Newburn said.
Parvo is completely preventable, with updated vaccinations. “It’s so important to get your dogs vaccinated,” Newburn said. “Very soon, we will be going around the county, giving out parvo shots like we do with rabies. Rabies is very important, but lately, we’re seeing more parvo in the county so we’re going to focus on that.”
Details on the parvo clinics will be announced as soon as they are available.
In the meantime, Newburn reminds dog owners that parvo is a very real danger. “If you take a dog to a dog park or anywhere it’s around other dogs, it can be very dangerous if they’re not vaccinated,” he said.
Certain dogs are at especially high risk for parvo infection, including puppies who are 6 weeks to 6 months old, unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated dogs, and the following breeds: rottweilers, Doberman pinschers, American pit bull terriers, English springer spaniels, and German shepherds.
“I can’t stress enough how important it is to get your animals vaccinated,” Newburn added. “Yes, it can be expensive, but if you can fix the problem with a $10 shot, it’s worth it.”
Vaccinations are available at your veterinarian’s office, or at some stores like Tractor Supply Company. “If you’re not sure if your animal is up to date on vaccinations, please check with your vet,” Newburn urged.
Duplin County will soon have a new animal shelter, and once it’s open, it will have isolation areas for quarantined animals, so the shelter won’t have to shut down the way it did in this case.
