The TEARS Animal Rescue has urged dog owners to have their animals vaccinated against the infectious canine hepatitis (ICH) disease.
According to the organisation, there has been an increase in laboratory-confirmed cases of ICH and a 95% death rate in unvaccinated animals or if they receive the treatment too late.
ICH does not affect humans and is caused by canine adenovirus 1 (CAV-1), which occurs worldwide.
Head veterinarian at TEARS, Dr Tania Heuer said a lack of compliance to vaccinate from many pet owners has been noted.
“While vaccination has been successful at reducing the prevalence of this disease, once it occurs in a community, it’s extremely challenging to manage the spread and prevention of the disease.
“The vaccine for ICH forms part of TEARS’ community vaccination programmes, but we continue to see a general lack of compliance from many community pet owners because of our mandatory sterilisation and vaccination requirement. Puppies are most at risk, but older dogs can also contract the disease if not vaccinated,” Heuer said.
The incubation period takes between two to five days but can take up to 14 days to manifest.
The virus is present in the urine, nose and eye discharges of infected animals, with transmission occurring by direct contact between animals.
Symptoms include lethargy, coughing, increased thirst, no appetite, nose and eye discharge, red eyes (conjunctivitis), abdominal pain, vomiting, and signs of internal bleeding due to liver necrosis (cell death).
Prognosis is poor if the animal’s symptoms have developed to the point of liver failure and internal bleeding.
Dogs that recover from the disease will continue to spread the virus via their urine for another six months.