Coronavirus
I thought I’d share some thoughts about the coronavirus threat that is occupying the news now. I’m not convinced we’ll get accurate information as some deny there is a threat while others may tend to...
Forum Discussion
I'm going to post an experience from my past that might help some of you realistically deal with the coronavirus pandemic that is now happening.
In 1981 I had a dog presented with a condition that I saw just about daily in practice. The owners were on vacation and their dog had diarrhea and they couldn't house him in their hotel. Normal course of action was to treat medically but was not hospitalization in most cases.
I hospitalized this dog knowing that dealing with this sickness while on the road was a problem. The next morning this dog was dead. This had never happened and I had no clue as to why. This just didn't happen.
Over the next couple of weeks this situation was repeated over and over and discussions with local colleagues revealed similar situations. Some patients did recover, but a much larger than normal percentage died even though we changed our protocol and treated more aggressively.
Within a month we learned from our veterinary scientific community that this was a novel viral disease, probably a mutated virus normally seen in cats. Of course it was Parvovirus.
We had no diagnostic test, no vaccination and little information about this parvo disease. We learned that the disinfectants that we normally used was ineffective against this virus; that a gram of fecal material contained a million virus particles and that this virus lived on surfaces literally forever (it could actually overwinter in our area.)
We suspended elective surgeries. We stopped boarding dogs. We learned that running a white blood cell count and finding a low level was pretty close to diagnostic. We learned better how to symptomatically aggressively treat this disease and started to save a significant number of patients. Eventually a vaccine was developed and is now an important part of routine canine vaccination protocols.
The good news is that we all exposed our own dogs (unknowingly) to this disease and none developed clinical disease. We undoubtedly exposed other patients to this disease because we didn't understand the method of transmission and the degree and type of disinfection necessary to prevent spread.
My point is that these situations happen. Not every individual dies or is even subjected to sickness.
We all do the best we can, take precautions and listen to the experts. We'll get through this, hopefully with minimal disruption no more than has already happened.
Dr. Doug
In 1981 I had a dog presented with a condition that I saw just about daily in practice. The owners were on vacation and their dog had diarrhea and they couldn't house him in their hotel. Normal course of action was to treat medically but was not hospitalization in most cases.
I hospitalized this dog knowing that dealing with this sickness while on the road was a problem. The next morning this dog was dead. This had never happened and I had no clue as to why. This just didn't happen.
Over the next couple of weeks this situation was repeated over and over and discussions with local colleagues revealed similar situations. Some patients did recover, but a much larger than normal percentage died even though we changed our protocol and treated more aggressively.
Within a month we learned from our veterinary scientific community that this was a novel viral disease, probably a mutated virus normally seen in cats. Of course it was Parvovirus.
We had no diagnostic test, no vaccination and little information about this parvo disease. We learned that the disinfectants that we normally used was ineffective against this virus; that a gram of fecal material contained a million virus particles and that this virus lived on surfaces literally forever (it could actually overwinter in our area.)
We suspended elective surgeries. We stopped boarding dogs. We learned that running a white blood cell count and finding a low level was pretty close to diagnostic. We learned better how to symptomatically aggressively treat this disease and started to save a significant number of patients. Eventually a vaccine was developed and is now an important part of routine canine vaccination protocols.
The good news is that we all exposed our own dogs (unknowingly) to this disease and none developed clinical disease. We undoubtedly exposed other patients to this disease because we didn't understand the method of transmission and the degree and type of disinfection necessary to prevent spread.
My point is that these situations happen. Not every individual dies or is even subjected to sickness.
We all do the best we can, take precautions and listen to the experts. We'll get through this, hopefully with minimal disruption no more than has already happened.
Dr. Doug
