T.C.S.P.C.A. NewsDog Distemper Killing Hundreds
There have been one hundred confirmed and recorded deaths from the highly contagious virus – infected dogs that have been put down after being brought to the animal welfare organisation or to vets on the island – but actual numbers are estimated as far exceeding this. “Without testing every dog there is no way of telling what the exact numbers are,” TCSPCA spokesperson Barbara Young told The Free Press. “Talking to a lot of children in the communities, especially in Five Cays, they tell us about dogs they have seen die and they thought they had been poisoned. That’s tragic. Once we told the kids what the symptoms were, it turned out they had died from distemper. And this was numbers of dogs in the same family dying at the same time which is why they thought it was poisoning.” The numbers within the feral dog population on the island are entirely unknown, with requests for information from field officers’ work within the Environmental Health Department going unanswered, say the TCSPCA. While the majority of known cases of infection are occurring in the Blue Hills, Five Cays and Glass Shack areas of the island, the TCSPCA and a host of volunteers have, since mid-April, been working on a comprehensive vaccination programme throughout Providenciales in efforts to stem the spread of distemper. They have carried out over 450 vaccinations, free of charge, so far. As well as conducting house visits, the non-profit organisation has been setting up clinics around the island, their latest in the Chalk Sound last weekend. They plan to continue with the vaccinations into the foreseeable future. The air-borne distemper virus only affects dogs. Humans and other animals are not at risk from the disease. Dogs will initially show signs of infection through a thick discharge from their eyes and nose, accompanied by coughing, diarrhoea and vomiting. In a dangerous twist to the disease, the dog will then seem healthier for a period of ten days, while the virus actually spreads throughout the body. “What it is doing is travelling up into the brain,” explained Ms Young, “and once it gets up into the brain and is fully blown (about twenty days after first infection) the dog gets convulsions and seizures, they go round in circles, they start chewing and foam at the mouth and then they die.” Because the disease is not visible for a ten-day period, it is almost impossible to know when to stop any vaccination programme, says Ms Young. “Even when we’re vaccinating, it’s difficult to know whether the dog is between the stages of distemper – they look okay, you give them the shot, but maybe they already have the disease.” No instances of the distemper virus have yet been recorded on other islands in the archipelago, but the TCSPCA is urging members of the public to be vigilant and ensure that no dogs are sent from Providenciales elsewhere in the country without receiving vaccinations. “If people are planning to send puppies over from here to other islands, like North Caicos or South Caicos, the TCSPCA will be glad to do a vaccination for them, so that the disease remains contained within Provo,” Ms Young assures, stressing that no vet services are available on North, Middle or South Caicos. ‘It only takes one infected puppy for the disease to spread.” Prior to this outbreak, canine distemper had not been seen in the Turks & Caicos Islands for twenty five years. The latest epidemic, say the TCSPCA, must have been introduced by an infected dog entering the country either illegally or with false vaccination documentation. For those dog-owners who have already had their pets vaccinated, the TCSPCA are reminding them that a shot is needed on an annual basis. Puppies need a booster shot after two weeks. For more information or to report any suspected cases of canine distemper, contact your vet or the TCSPCA on 941 8846/231 3052. Published on TCI Free Press Online (http://www.tcifreepress.com)
|
Hundreds of dogs have died in Providenciales since the first outbreak of the lethal distemper disease came to light over two months ago, say the Turks & Caicos Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (TCSPCA), and many more animals are likely to be infected.
|
|
Copyright © 2007. Turks and Caicos Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. All Rights Reserved.
Webhosting and Domain donated by Cable & Wireless Turks & Caicos Islands