PRESENTATION ON CANINE DISTAMPER

1. PRESENTATION ON CANINE DISTAMPER

2. INTRODUCTION. • The origin of the word distemper is from the Middle English distemperen, meaning to upset the balance of the humoral, which is from the Old French destemprer, meaning to disturb. • Canine distemper is a viral disease that caused by a RNA(ribonucleic acid) virus of the paramyxovirus, and thus a close relative of measles (bright red rash of small spot) and rinderpest in hoofed-animals such as cattle. • Distemper is a disease that affects a wide range of wild and domestic carnivores. • The virus is highly resistant to cold, causing a high number of dog infection cases in the fall and winter. • It now affects all populations of domestic dog and some populations of wildlife.

3. CAUSATIVE AGENT AND MODE OF TRANSMISSION. • The causative agent of the disease is a virus belonging to the genus Morbillivirus of family Paramyxoviridae. Since the canine distemper virus (CDV) can survive for a longer period of time in cold conditions • The virus, a single-stranded negative RNA, can cause systemic infection in the host carnivore.Puppies from three to six months old are particularly susceptible. CDV spreads through aerosol droplets and through contact with infected bodily fluids, including nasal and ocular secretions, feces, and urine, six to 22 days after exposure. It can also be spread by food and water contaminated with these fluids. The time between infection and disease is 14 to 18 days, although a fever can appear from three to six days after infection.

4. The canine distemper virus is spread in many ways.  An infected animal can easily shed the virus through • exhalation implying that the virus is transmitted via air.  • The virus is also shed through other bodily secretions and excretions such as urine and feces.  • Younger dogs are more vulnerable to canine distemper than older dogs because of their under developed immune systems.

5. Signs and Symptoms of Canine Distemper What canine distemper is in terms of symptoms maybe confused with other diseases due to its universal and wide range clinical manifestations.  • Common symptoms are either gastrointestinal  (such as vomiting, loss of appetite, and diarrhea) • Respiratory in nature (difficulty in breathing).  • ulceration and inflammation of the gums • (inflammation within the eye itself) - the surface of the cornea (clear part of the eye) will become cloudy in appearance.

6. Behavioral changes include tiredness, weakness, and depression.  • Neurological signs may also be seen such as muscle twitching especially near the mouth and legs.  Seizures and paralysis may occur in • shivering, sneezing, Discharges from the mouth and nose. severe cases. • Because it likes to infect and damage epithelial cells, canine distemper also tends to infect the outer skin of the dog • 'hardpad' - the pads of the feet become excessively thickened. • 'hardnose' - the nose of the dog becomes excessively thickened and horny.

7. The purulent nasal discharge and hyperkeratotic nose.

9. EXAMPLE OF HARD PAN AND NOSE PAN

11. DIAGNOSIS • Diagnosis; the identifying of an illness or disorder in a patient through physical examination, medical tests, or other procedures • Because distemper symptoms are so varied, there is no one test to determine whether or not your dog is infected • Common respiratory side effects such as pneumonia may be detected by either x-ray or CT scan. • Cerebrospinal fluid (liquid that surround the brain and spinal cord) can be examined for the presence of antibodies that would only be present if CDV were in the body. Similarly, immunofluorescent assays can detect the presence of viral antigens – immune system proteins that serve to fight viral invaders • Finally, a microscopic examination of blood and tissue samples may detect the presence of inclusion bodies cellular structures that indicate that CDV particles are present

12. Tissue samples - fluorescent antibody testing: • This ability of distemper antibodies to bind specifically to distemper antigens is what is taken advantage of when testing tissues for the presence of distemper. Tissue sections taken from dogs thought to be infected with distemper are exposed to a solution of anti-distemper antibodies which have been bound to a special fluorescent dye

14. AFFECTED WILDLIFE SPECIES • The disease mostly affects animals in the families Canidae (dogs), Mustelidae (badger), Hyaenidae (hyaena), some Viverridae (mongoose,civet) and Felidae (lion), (though not domestic cats) . Despite extensive vaccination in many regions, it remains a major disease of dogs.

15. WILDLIFE AFFECTED BY CANINE DISTEMPER

16. THREAT TO WILDLIFE SPECIES • The domestic dog has largely been responsible for introducing canine distemper to previously unexposed wildlife, and now causes a serious conservation threat to many species of carnivores • CANINE distemper virus is thought to have caused several fatal epidemics in canids within the Serengeti–Mara ecosystem of East Africa, affecting silver-backed jackals and bat-eared foxes in 1978 and African wild dogs . In 1991, the lion population in Serengeti, Tanzania, experienced a 20% decline as a result of the disease.and recurrently causes mortality among African wild dogs

17. DISEASE MANAGEMENT IN THE WILD • Wildlife surveys have identified domestic dogs as a major source for canine distemper outbreaks that have devastated the Serengeti’s lions and African wild dogs. To safeguard these predators, as well as people and pets, Lincoln Park Zoo is leading a project to vaccinate domestic dogs against distemper. • With support from the zoo and its partners, Tanzanian veterinarians and field staff regularly inoculate dogs in villages bordering the park. Blood samples are drawn during the process to help scientists study disease transmission among the dogs. • Since it began in 2003, the vaccination project has become woven into the culture of the region. People are happy to participate, bringing their pets long distances to be vaccinated. • What’s the impact? Preliminary results are promising. Distemper is down among the region’s big cats

19. CONCLUSION • Supportive care is the only treatment for canine distemper. Vaccination of susceptible domestic animals and the removal of animal carcasses can help to control outbreaks. The reduction of wild carnivore populations can also help to decrease the availability of potential hosts. • Symptoms in dogs include coughing, vomiting, and diarrhea. Eye discharge, anorexia, and disturbances of the central nervous system may appear as well. Symptoms in wild carnivores include abnormal behavior and lack of fear, often resembling behavior seen in animals with rabies. Purulent conjunctivitis and nasal discharge may be evident as well. The illness is potentially fatal, with a mortality rate close to 100% in highly susceptible animals. Prevention is key and all susceptible domestic species should be vaccinated.

20. REFERENCE • Creel and Creel,TheAfrican WildDog,Behaviour,Ecology and Conservation.Princeton University Press. • Hudson et al,TheEcology of Wildlife Disease.Department of Biological Sciences,University of Stirling Scotland. • www.google.com