Parvovirus is a scary disease that typically affects unvaccinated puppies. It is highly contagious, so if your dog is diagnosed with this virus, you'll want to thoroughly disinfect your home before it returns.
The best household cleaner to use to kill parvovirus is bleach (1 part bleach to 30 parts water). It should be used on hard surfaces including tiles, concrete, paving bottoms of shoes etc – leave the bleach on the surface at least 10-15 minutes. Anything that can be washed in bleach should be.
Outside of your dog, the virus can survive indoors for at least one month, and outdoors it can survive for many months and even a year under the right conditions. Use a cleaner proven to kill parvovirus. Talk to your vet about the best way to remove the parvovirus from your home environment or kennels.
It can survive indoors for months and outdoors it can live for months to years, especially in dark, moist environments. Parvo can be easily spread by fomites, which are objects such as a doorknob or pet fur that can be contaminated by a virus. Dog-to-dog contact is not required for susceptible dogs to become infected.
In regards to your first question, parvovirus is pretty hardy virus, as I am sure you are aware. There are some studies stating that it can be inactivated readily at boiling temperatures (212 degrees F); unfortunately this isn't an option in conventional washing machines.
You will need to disinfect your entire home in and outside to prevent your dog getting sick again. Outdoor and hard surfaces can be disinfected with 1 part bleach to 10 parts water. This is an effective way to remove the Parvo virus from those surfaces.
If your dog has come into contact with bedding, food and water bowls, carpet, or a kennel that a dog with parvovirus has touched, they can catch the virus. Parvo can also be spread on shoes, clothing and human hands.
Parvo is so infectious that humans can spread it unknowingly to other dogs if they have recently come into contact with an infected pup, just by touching them. This means an innocent pat on the head could result in a life-threatening condition.
The Spread of Canine Parvovirus 'Parvo'
The disease is so infectious that even a human that has unknowingly been in contact with an infected dog can spread the virus to puppies and other dogs just by touching them.
Parvo is easily transmitted from place-to-place by contaminated shoes or other objects. Even trace amounts of feces from an infected dog may harbor the virus and infect other dogs that come into the environment.
The virus can live on contaminated surfaces or clothing for up to 5-6 months.
contagious virus infecting members of the canine family, including dogs, coyotes, foxes and wolves. Commonly called “parvo”, the organism is very stable in the environment, able to withstand freezing temperatures and many disinfectants to survive as long as seven months in a contaminated area.
Parvo can live in the ground, the grass, on bushes – pretty much anywhere (although it is not an airborne virus). Disease prevention is always less costly (and risky) than treating a condition your pet has developed.
This means even vaccinated puppies may occasionally be infected by parvovirus and develop disease. To reduce gaps in protection and provide the best protection against parvovirus during the first few months of life, a series of puppy vaccinations are administered.
Once a dog has recovered from parvo, it is unlikely that they will contract the virus again. The immunity from the virus lasts for several years, protecting your dog from reinfection. It is theoretically possible for a dog to get parvo twice, but such chances are very slim.
The survival rate for hospitalization is 90%. The survival rate for at-home care is 50%.
You can safely handle your dog if she has Parvo. You can stroke her if she needs comfort while she feels poorly. However, it is sensible to wear disposable gloves and an apron if you can and make sure that you wash your hands thoroughly after touching your dog if she is sick.
The most common incubation time for parvovirus is 3-5 days but can occasionally be as long as 14 days. For this reason, the standard quarantine duration for animals with negative titers and known exposure to parvo is 14 days. However, the majority of animals exposed to parvo develop clinical signs within 7 days.
Luckily, parvovirus is only contagious between dogs; humans and other species cannot be contaminated. However, anyone can transmit the virus if they come into contact with an infected pet or areas. Your dog's best line of defense is routine, up-to-date vaccination.
Commercial high heat dishwasher preferred (because of high temperature and mechanical cleaning, these are generally sufficient even for Parvovirus/Panleukopenia).
To kill canine parvovirus on hard non-porous surfaces, prepare a disinfecting solution of ½ cup Clorox® Disinfecting Bleach and one gallon of water. Pre-wash the areas and then mop or wipe with the disinfecting solution.
The Parvo virus can live nine months to a year in favorable conditions such as dirt, concrete, and soil. It can live up to six months in fabric and carpets.
High heat will kill parvovirus but it has to be temperatures of around 120-130 degrees Celsius for a period of 15 minutes. Sunlight can also deactivate the virus.
The virus can survive on clothing, equipment, on human skin, and in the environment. Indirect transmission occurs when a puppy comes into contact with a contaminated person, object, or environment. The parvovirus is a particularly resilient virus.