Parvo outbreak raids Ohio shelter

By Stephanie Davis
SENIOR EDITOR DVM Magazine June 2003

CLEVELAND—About 30 cats and five dogs at the Cleveland Animal Protective League (APL) are dead following a devastating outbreak of parvovirus in early February.
Some animals died within hours of contracting the highly contagious disease. Others were euthanized based on their poor condition or the risk of their spreading the disease to other animals in the shelter.
"The virus was pretty wicked," says Dr. Sarah Kirk, veterinarian for the APL.
She had just returned from the North American Veterinary Conference, where she attended a session on canine parvovirus' impact on felines.
"When I came back from the meeting and was told we had canine parvovirus, I thought, 'I wonder if I'll get any sick cats,'" Kirk says. She says she didn't have to wonder too long.
A puppy first tested positive for parvo on Jan. 29, followed by two more puppies on Jan. 31. By Feb. 1, the shelter received a visit from a pet owner who had recently adopted a cat from the shelter.
"It was brought back (to the shelter) dead," says Kirk. A succession of feline deaths followed.

Typical signs

In the APL outbreak the dominant clinical sign in infected dogs was diarrhea. For cats, the damage was much more severe.
"We were finding sudden deaths with the cats. Some would be fine one day; the next morning I would come in and find them dead in their cage," she says.
Many cats presented with vomiting prior to death.
Some surviving cats and dogs were protected by vaccinations.
At presstime, the origin of the virus was unknown.

High-stress setting

Kirk isn't too surprised by the outbreak, although the severity caught her off guard.
"In a shelter environment, because there are more stresses on these cats and dogs, the chance of a virus damaging many at one time is highly probable," she says.
"Of such interest to me was the feet it affected cats of all ages, not just the kittens," says Kirk
It also affected previously owned cats, which shelter staff assumed had already been vaccinated.
In general, shelters can have a difficult time tracking vaccination histories. For example, until this outbreak, APL had not inquired in depth about the vaccination history of incoming dogs or cats. The shelter, however, does vaccinate all animals upon arrival.

Action plan

At the peak of the outbreak, APL staff used the Idexx parvo test on its cats, which came back positive. Kirk also sent specimens to Cornell University to determine whether it was canine or feline. At presstime, she did not have the results.
APL staff cleaned all cages with bleach and steam. The shelter is also housing animals according to age groups. More susceptible younger pets will be housed together away from adults. All animals are being revaccinated.
In the meantime, the shelter imposed a two-week restriction on incoming animals without proof of vaccination. Adoptions were put on hold as well. The shelter is monitoring animal attitude, appetite and stools.