Treating parvovirus with a telemedicine approach
Evaluating and treating dogs with canine parvovirus with a Community Dog Health Worker and virtual supervision by a licensed veterinarian
Canine parvovirus is a perfect example of the importance of quick, quality care for companion animals. With proper and prompt treatment, a pet has up to a 90% chance of survival from parvovirus. Without this treatment, the survival rate is only 5-10%.
In the remote Mayan village of Todos Santos, Guatemala, the nearest veterinary clinic is approximately two hours away by car, an insurmountable distance and expense for many companion animal caretakers. For that reason, we have been working in the village for the past five and a half years to train and support a local community member, Andrés, to serve as a Community Dog Animal Worker who can, with virtual supervision from a licensed veterinarian in Chile, provide essential care for minor injuries and treatable illnesses such as canine parvovirus. With Andrés’ help, dogs like Bonita (below) can be saved when they would otherwise be left to suffer and, in many cases, die.
In the video below, you can see how Andrés completes an assessment of Bonita after her first day of treatment.
With instruction and careful review from a veterinarian in Chile, Andrés, our Community Dog Health Worker, is performing a “skin turgor test” to evaluate Bonita for dehydration. In cases of canine parvovirus, it’s very common that dogs become severely dehydrated due to severe vomiting and diarrhea.
Next, Andrés measures the capillary refill time (CRT) by pressing gently on Bonita’s gums. This test gives an indication of how well blood is reaching the tissues (tissue perfusion) which can give us important information about blood pressure, dehydration and shock for example.
With these two relatively simple tests, Andrés can determine how Bonita has been responding to the initial phases of her care and adjust accordingly, with advice and oversight from the supervising veterinarian in Chile.
Andrés on his motorcycle, reading to head out to care for a dog in need!
In Bonita’s case, her family learned about Andrés’ services through the twice-monthly educational radio show he hosts on topics of animal welfare and responsible pet ownership. The family happens to live in the mountains outside of Todos Santos, quite far from the city center, but they made the long journey, walking through the mountains, to bring Bonita to receive care. After several days of treatment and isolation (to avoid infecting other dogs), Bonita made a full recovery! When Andrés went to check on her a month later, she was doing great and was ready to receive her vaccinations and deworming treatment. Thanks to our generous donors, we were able to help subsidize the cost of this important preventive care so that the family, who had very limited financial resources, could afford to provide the best care possible for Bonita!
