Home › Forums › Open Discussion › Seattle Animal Shelter Shares Concern: High Number of Raccoons with Distemper
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June 19, 2012 at 11:58 pm #603664
furryfacesParticipantFrom http://www.seattledogspot.com : ‘Q13fox.com reported yesterday that Seattle Animal Shelter officials have noticed a significant increase in the number of racoons infected with distemper in the city. Currently the shelter is picking up about 25 racoons with distemper a month.’
“The safest bet, although there is no guarantee, is to have your dog vaccinated for canine distemper,” said Donald Jordan of the Seattle Animal Shelter.
More Info:
June 20, 2012 at 12:01 am #761405
mehud7ParticipantThis distemper is called parvo in dogs. Important to note that cats do not get the same distemper as dogs and raccoons.
June 20, 2012 at 12:37 am #761406
furryfacesParticipantThank you for providing the clarification Mehud7.
June 20, 2012 at 3:35 am #761407
LenaParticipantOk to clear things up –
Canine distemper is what the raccoons have not parvo. Parvo in dogs is a very different disease than canine distemper.
Cats get panleukopenia which is a very similar virus as parvo in dogs. However we refer to panleukopenia in cats as feline distemper for some unknown and very confusing reason since it is not a distemper virus at all.
So cat distemper = cat parvovirus in cats
canine distemper does not equal parvo in dogs or cats
June 20, 2012 at 5:14 am #761408
mehud7ParticipantThanks Dr. Lena, but now I am more confused. Is the raccoon distemper contagious to our pets?
June 20, 2012 at 5:40 am #761409
waterworldParticipantMehud7: Yes. The distemper in raccoons is canine distemper, and it can spread to dogs. The most susceptible are unvaccinated puppies between 3 and 6 months, and older dogs that either have not had a booster in a long time or were never immunized at all. Pregnant females can pass the virus on to their unborn puppies. There is no cure for distemper; the only sure way to prevent infection is vaccination.
It is difficult to determine whether a raccoon is infected just by looking at it. In the early stages, distemper symptoms are the same as an upper respiratory infection, so you might not even notice if a raccoon in your neighborhood is infected. By the time the raccoon is very ill and dying, its behavior may be similar to that of a rabid raccoon, and you won’t know which it is unless and until the animal’s tissue is analyzed after it dies.
An animal with CDV sheds the virus in all of its bodily secretions. Infection can occur if your dog inhales airborne viral particles or if your dog licks something that has been contaminated by an infected raccoon. An animal that survives the illness may shed virus for weeks.
If you have a dog that hasn’t had a booster recently or a puppy that hasn’t yet been vaccinated, now is the time.
June 20, 2012 at 2:14 pm #761410
hammerheadParticipantI will put it out there. If a raccoon has is or has been seen looking sick please contact me and I will be able to get the sick animal. I am not saying do not contact seattle animal control but I can be a back up plan. I can be somewhere within a hour it could take animal control a few or more hours.
I have done this twice. I have a net and the raccoons are usually so weak they do not put up a fight. I just hate to see them SUFFER and even potentially spread the disease to dogs.
I will get the animal to the shelter.
FCAT
June 20, 2012 at 8:03 pm #761411
LenaParticipantWhat waterworld said. One point is that most distemper vaccinated dogs are immune for life so instead of a booster consider getting a titer test done. It will tell you for sure if the vaccine is still good.
June 21, 2012 at 6:08 pm #761412
hopeyParticipantLet’s be very clear on this: Canine Distemper is NOT the same as Canine Parvovirus. They are caused by completely different organisms — that is why we have completely different vaccinations for each.
Canine Distemper Virus: http://bakerinstitute.vet.cornell.edu/animalhealth/page.php?id=1088
Canine Parvovirus:
http://bakerinstitute.vet.cornell.edu/animalhealth/page.php?id=1089
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