VACCINATIONS for pets are an important part of your dog’s health and by vaccinating your pet, you help protect your family friend from various diseases including rabies, distemper, parvovirus and many more.
Amanzimtoti SPCA recommends your pets are checked by your vet at least once a year.
The vet will be able to detect any diseases in advance, which will save you from heartache and expenses in the long term.
Our climate can be problematic to our pets’ lives. Normal weather which our animals are exposed to includes rainfall, temperature, solar radiation, humidity and wind. The weather is an important contributing factor in disease outbreaks in our area, as viruses and bacteria are encouraged by weather conditions.
Three possible outbreaks in the Amanzimtoti SPCA area:
- Parvovirus – there have been more than five fatalities in one week.
- Distemper – there have been more than five fatalities in five days.
- In addition, three dogs have tested positive for rabies as well as one cat.
Clinical signs of the diseases are as follow:
Parvovirus:
- Diarrhoea,
- vomiting,
- dehydration,
- fever,
- loss of appetite and
- depression (diseased intestines).
Distemper:
- Eye or nose discharge,
- coughing,
- vomiting,
- diarrhoea,
- seizures,
- muscle twitches,
- skin abnormalities (nasal discharge).
Rabies:
- Abnormal behaviour (excessive aggression or calmness),
- dropped lower jaw,
- excessive salivation,
- lack of co-ordination.
There are two forms of rabies:
1. Furious – the animal is demented and will attack anything that moves;
2. Dumb – the animal is dull and in the case of a wild animal, appears tame. Partial paralysis is often a feature.
Be very careful around stray animals because if you take them into your house, you are putting your own animals at risk of diseases.
Rabies is an endemic hazard in this area currently.
