20/03/2025
A timely reminder to check your furry friends' vaccination status. The full media release is an important read, especially if you're getting a new puppy or adopting🐾.
⚠️⚠️ Vets are seeing significant outbreaks of parvovirus in several regions, including Northland, Auckland and Wellington⚠️⚠️
Parvovirus is a highly contagious, potentially fatal disease that affects the gastrointestinal tract of dogs. Unvaccinated (or incompletely vaccinated) puppies aged six weeks to six months are most at risk of catching parvo.
Symptoms usually occur within seven days of exposure and may include lethargy, low appetite, fever, vomiting and bloody diarrhoea. Here are some tips to reduce your puppy's risk of contracting parvovirus:
✅ Contact your vet for advice if your dog is unwell. Let them know if your dog has not been vaccinated, is only partially vaccinated, or if their vaccines are overdue.
✅ Get your dog vaccinated by a vet. Parvovirus is highly preventable with the right vaccinations.
✅ Keep them away from unvaccinated dogs and public areas where dogs commonly walk.
✅ Keep them restricted to properties with no history of parvovirus, as the disease can survive in affected areas for years.
✅ Make sure no one is bringing potentially contaminated material on to your property (remember to ‘clean the poo from your shoe!’)
✅ Talk to your vet about the parvovirus risk in your region.
✅ Ask your vet about an appropriate vaccination and socialisation programme for your puppy.
You can read our full media release about the outbreak at 👉 https://nzva.org.nz/home/news/community-effort-needed-to-raise-vaccination-rates-against-canine-parvovirus/
