Prevalence and predictors of parvovirus infection in dogs attending paradise animal clinic(s) in Kampala District

Abstract

Canine Parvovirosis is a highly contagious disease of dogs that cause gastrointestinal illness in puppies. The study reported 221 (57.55%) out of 384 of the positivity rate, and of these, 49 died, representing a fatality rate of 22.17% of the positive cases. The majority of these fatality cases (96%) occurred in dogs below 3 Months of age (63.3% less than 2 months and 32.7% less than 3 months) indicate a lack of primary and early vaccination to provide protective immunity since most dogs were not vaccinated against CPV. Samples were taken from dogs of 2 months (32.0%), 3 months (20.6%), 4 months (18.2%), 8 months (10.2%), 1 year (14.6%), and 2 years (4.4%). Only (19.0%) of the dogs studied were vaccinated, and the rest (81.0%) had no history of vaccination against Canine parvovirus (CPV). The study revealed that the difference in average weights between the CPV positive (CPV+) group of dogs and CPV negative (CPV-) group of dogs is 1.42, 95% CI [1.38, 1.47]. Of the 384 samples collected and tested, 138/384 male dogs were CPV+ and 116/384 female dogs were CPV+, 83/384 male dogs were CPV negative and 47/384 female dogs were CPV negative. A significant number of dogs which were not vaccinated 169 (44.0%) were parvovirus positive (+). Most of the sampled dogs were cross-German shepherd dogs and German shepherd dogs (58.4%), local dogs were (25.3%), and Maltese dogs were (12.0%). A multivariate regression was performed to ascertain the effects of a dog’s age, sex, breed, and vaccination status on the likelihood that a dog will contract the CPV virus. The gender of the dog owner, occupation, age, and education were also regressed against CPV prevalence. The multivariate regression model was statistically significant: F (15, 367) = 12.87, p =.000. The model explained 31.0% (R2) of the variance in CPV prevalence. The individual predictors were examined further and indicated that the age of the dog (t = 11.37, p <.00) was a statistically significant predictor of CPV among dogs in Kampala. The prevalence of CPV in dogs increases by 17% with each age increase in the dog's age. The risk factors identified in this study can be used as prognostic indicators for veterinarians faced with CPV cases. The study recommends that to limit environmental contamination and spread to other susceptible animals, dogs with confirmed or suspected CPV enteritis must be handled wpih strict isolation procedures (e.g., isolation housing, gowning and gloving of personnel, frequent and thorough cleaning, footbaths, etc.). To prevent and control CPV, the study recommends that owners vaccinate their dogs with a modified-live vaccine at 6–8, 10–12, and 14–16 weeks of age, followed by a booster administered 1 year later and then every 3 years.