CANINE PARVOVIRUS

This particular virus Canine Parvovirus (CPV) is an extremely resistant
virus and the possibility for contamination of any dog is tremendous. It
can occur by a number of routes from one so simple as you walking through
a puddle of water (contaminated with fecal material from a stray dog that
was actively shedding the virus) at Wal Mart and then you walking back
through your kennel.  I have seen this disease wipe out whole litters just
as it did in your case.  One of the most overlooked methods of combating
the spread of this virus is sanitation.

Parvovirus can survive extremes in pH and temperature and exposure to
common disinfectants, which allows it to persist for long periods of time.
 CPV is known to survive for at least 6 months in the refrigerator at 4 to
10 degrees Celsius.  There is only a slight loss of infectivity after 3
months at room temperature, and the virus probably survives for months or
years in feces in the environment.  The virus can be inactivated by
certain chemical solutions such as formalin or bleach.

Contaminated feces is the primary mode of spread of CPV.  The virus is
shed in large quantities in the feces and as I said before is very
resistant to inactivation.  The virus may also be shed in the saliva and
vomitus during acute illness but the overall importance of these routes is
probably minimal.  Most dogs probably contract the disease by contacting
fomites (an object, such as a book, wooden object, or an article of
clothing, that is not in itself harmful, but is able to harbor pathogenic
microorganisms and thus may serve as an agent of transmission of an
infection).  These fomites may be contaminated by minute amounts of feces
from infected dogs.  Direct contact between dogs is not required because
as you have read the virus is extremely resistant.  Common mechanical
vectors (carriers which transfer an infective agent from one host to
another) are humans (the vet himself maybe?), fleas, flies, and
cockroaches.

The prepatent period (period of time that it takes for clinical signs of
infection to appear after exposure to the source of infection) for CPV is
roughly 5 to 10 days after ORAL contact with the virus.

As you can see, due to the amazing resistance of this virus and the
multitude of ways it can be spread it is simply amazing that you have
never had a case before.  In all honesty I never have either.  I have been
a practicing vet for over 14 yrs. now.  We have raised Dachsunds,
Shelties, English Bulldogs and now for the last nine years Labs.  I breed
Chocolate labs but on a limited basis.  I only have 1 female, my hunting
dog and best friend Bonny.  We have raised 4 litters of labs.  When we had
English Bulldogs before the kids were born, we had as many as five females
though and 1 Champion male show dog.  Man, I sure am glad we don't raise
them anymore because we live in LA. and had to keep them in the house due
to the temps.  The point I am trying to make with all this rhetoric (that
you probably aren't interested in anyway) is that as constantly exposed to
CPV as I am and it's extremely high potential for spreading I never have
had a case of CPV in any of my personal dogs either.  The reason is
because of extreme attention to detail in sanitation procedures.

In my clinic, we are always extremely conscious of the prescence of CPV
cases in our clinic and very careful when handling puppies being brought
in for vaccinations or etc.  We do try to inform our clients that we have
cases in our clinic, but since we vets deal with sick animals and a
multitude of infectious diseases all the time it really is "the nature of
the beast" so to speak.  My partner and I try to practice extreme
santitation practices when dealing with CPV cases in our clinic but in all
honesty it can be a very difficult battle to fight.

As far as breeding the female again.  If I were you I would still skip the
next heat before breeding as I always recommend.  I do not recommend
letting females have more than 1 litter a year as I believe it is just too
hard on them.  Some tips for next time.  SANITATION, SANITATION,
SANITATION.  Limit the puppies experiences with stray dogs and/or strange
areas that are likely to be contaminated with CPV.  Start vaccinations of
the puppies at 5 or 6 weeks of age.  Vaccinate the dam with a booster
vaccination for CPV about midway through her gestation period if she has
not recieved her annual vaccination within the last six months.  This will
boost her level of immunity to CPV which will in turn increase the levels
of antibodies for CPV in her colostrum which will benefit the puppies,
hopefully  by increasing the level of their maternal antibody response
should they come in contact with CPV before they have been adequately
immunized.  Make sure the puppies are on a super premium quality diet and
have been properly dewormed at 2, 4, and 6 weeks of age.  While this has
no direct effect on CPV, if the puppies are stronger and healthier they
will be less likely to succumb to a CPV infection.

Dr.J