Canine Distemper Virus – Part 1

Most people are familiar with the term “distemper”, and the majority of people with dogs are aware that their dog needs some kind of shot in order to prevent distemper, but they likely don’t know much more than that.

While we talk about distemper in this set of articles, please remeber that we are speaking with generalizations based on scientific research. The averages based on those research findings are the basis of vaccine doseage recommendations and those averages obviously don’t take into account the specific characteristics of your dog and its condtion.

All programs of dog distemper vaccination are based on a compromise of the prevalence of the disease, the convenience to the owner, financial considerations, and a number of other factors. The dog owner needs to trust his vet to help him devise an effective program that balances those considerations.

The Disease

Canine Distemper, also known as “Carre’s Disease”, results from a virus that attacks the cells of the epithelial and nervous tissue. Organs that can be affected include lymphoid tissue, nerves, footpads, the brain, the intestinal tract, lungs, and other epithelial tissue of the dog’s body. You might have heard of “Hard Pad Disease”, which is one of the numerous manifestations of distemper virus.

Just one singl;e strain of canine distemper exists so the various resulting syndromes simply reflect individual response to the virus. The virus infects not only dogs but also dingoes, coyotes, foxes, ferrets, wolves, raccoons, mink, weasels, and skunks.

The Canine Distemper, or CD, virus is transmitted via eye, mouth, and nasal discharge of infected animals. If such a discharge enters another animal’s respiratory system via direct contact or through dust or droplets containing the virus, the animal can contract the virus. It can also be transmitted manually by flies. Contact with the feces or urine of an infected animal can also transmit the virus.

In cool environments the virus can lie dormant for a long period of time and become active again when the environment warms. But hot temperatures outside of a host destabilize the virus so that it may only survive for up to a few hours. At temperatures over 140 degrees the virus will die after 30 minutes or so. Many chemicals will also kill the virus.

If you are considering bringing a new dog into a home where a case of distemper in dogs has occurred, the above can provide you with some guidance as to when it is safe to bring the new animal into that environment. In warmer weather, the environment should be fine after a few weeks. But in a cold climate, the CD virus may be lying dormant in the back yard and become a danger once the weather warms up a little.

The incubation period of Canine Distemper is around a week. This is how long it takes for the virus to cause the disease after entering the dog’s body.