Parvovirus outbreak at housing complex left Londoner's dog 'knocking at death's door'

A local animal welfare group is sounding the alarm about a canine parvovirus outbreak it says has left at least two dogs dead at a local community housing complex.

The outbreak is at 345 and 349 Wharncliffe Rd. N., where there is a "high concentration of unvaccinated dogs living in close quarters," London-based PAWS Canada said. It was first discovered roughly two weeks ago.

Given parvovirus' high mortality rate, the London-based charity is calling for a mass immunization effort at the 290-unit property, which they estimate is home to 75 to 100 dogs.

PAWS says it's working with local veterinarians to coordinate an immunization response, but says vaccinating each dog would cost at least $250.

It is calling on city representatives and London and Middlesex Community Housing (LMCH) to support the emergency response with funding for vaccinations and a plan to immediately clean the buildings.

"Residents say many more dogs have been affected than what I have been able to verify from veterinarians," said Emily Birkner, PAWS' fundraising initiatives manager. 

Residents walking their dogs nearby could easily get it as well, she said. "It's just very high risk of spread to the community and within the building."

Canine parvovirus can be spread through direct contact with infected dogs, feces of infected dogs or contaminated surfaces. It can also survive in the environment for months.

"This can't fall on residents alone. It's a community issue, and it requires a community response," said Linda Armstrong, PAWS' board chair.

LMCH says it learned of parvovirus at the complex on June 12, after a dog was confirmed to have died from it. Tenants were notified, and common areas were cleaned.

Resident Ashley Rossignol says her own dog, an Alaskan shepherd named Nova, nearly met the same fate.

She continued to take Nova out after being assured that action had been taken, she said, but days later Nova began exhibiting worsening symptoms, becoming lethargic and unable to keep down fluids.

By Tuesday, Nova was defecating blood, leaving Rossignol worried she was going to die. 

"To witness your fur baby being in tremendous pain and basically knocking on death's door … it was traumatizing in more ways than one."

With the help of medication and fluids from the vet, Nova is back to her sassy self, Rossignol said. She's had to relocate to her boyfriend's apartment, where Nova is quarantined in the kitchen until the vet says otherwise.

The experience has left Rossignol in debt from vet bills and other costs, including bleach and PPE to disinfect and keep parvovirus from being tracked outside.

Nova turns one-year-old on June 27, and was adopted from the previous owners at 12-weeks-old, she said. "Not being a dog person, when they told me, 'yeah, she's vaccinated.' I took their word."

It's unclear how Nova contracted parvovirus, but Rossignol and PAWS expressed concern not enough was being done to stop its spread and warn residents of the dangers.

A notice from LMCH at the complex dated June 13 advises of parvovirus symptoms in the buildings and the agency's response, but PAWS argues it doesn't reflect the severity of the crisis or mention that parvovirus can be deadly. 

Need for vaccines

"If they've never had a vaccine, chances are probably 80 per cent they will not survive," said Danny Joffe, VP of medical operations at VCA Canada, a network of veterinary hospitals. The mortality rate remains high for partially-vaccinated dogs.

"In a perfect world, they would get that series of three vaccines at eight weeks, 12 weeks and 16 weeks," followed by booster doses, he said, adding that, while rare, vaccinated dogs can get sick from parvovirus.

There have been at least two rounds of cleaning at the property focused on common areas, said Paul Chisholm, LMCH's CEO. The agency is looking at how to conduct a full building clean "in the next day or so" that's effective and safe for tenants and pets.

In funding a vaccination effort, Chisholm said the agency faces its own budget constraints, and that it's too early to say if it's something it could support, but agrees LMCH and PAWS need to sit down and develop an action plan.

"Veterinary services are not things we're envisioned to fund. At the same time, we know to be effective in managing this outbreak, more citizens need to have their dogs vaccinated," he said.

He also "fundamentally disagree[s]" with the charity's comments about the notice, saying LMCH staff acted quickly with the information they had.

"The notices we put up began an engagement process with our tenants. Our staff have been available to them to share information. We were not going to be putting signs up that say 'the zombie apocalypse is coming,'" he said.

"We told them what parvovirus is, how we can protect our dogs, signs and symptoms to look for, what are we doing about it, and provided some frequently asked questions. That's how you communicate to tenants, to give them information so they know what questions to ask."