Animal shelters in Mérida are now prepared to face the canine parvovirus epidemic in Yucatán.
Some have chosen not to accept new dogs for the moment and take the best care of those they have. In others, they have taken sanitary measures to the extreme. Although, at the moment, they are not reporting cases, administrators know that they are not exempt.
Interviewed about the parvovirus alert in Yucatán, shelter representatives shared that they are clear about the symptoms and know how to detect them. Among the symptoms are secretions, lack of appetite, sores in the eyes, sometimes green, and fever, in addition to infested dogs becoming isolated and unable to stand. Ten out of every 100 infected animals survive the illness.
Flor Suárez Bolio, president of the civil association Mascotas de la Costa Maya, says they have experience with the disease. In 2023, they had an outbreak that resulted in six dead dogs. They have already taken extreme prevention measures this time.
When we have parvovirus cases, the animal is isolated from everyone, and we disinfect its place. People in contact with the animal no longer enter the shelter because even footprints can infect where the others are. At the moment, they have a total of 46 dogs in their group.
At the Evolución Animal Foundation shelter, they have a total of 125 dogs. They are free of parvovirus so far.
We have not had any cases but took measures to avoid infections. Among the measures in homes and shelters are taking the pet to the veterinarian and following the deworming protocols and vaccination cycles, which should be started at any age, especially when they are puppies, indicated Silvia Cortés Castillo, president of Animal Evolution.
Maribel Sánchez Valencia, director of Mano Canina, who has directly had no cases, reinforced the issue of disinfection and vaccines. Among the measures that apply and that, according to Maribel Sánchez, should be adopted in homes are the Puppy vaccine for puppies, the six-fold vaccine for adults, and deworming every three months. Likewise, maintain hygiene by washing your hands and disinfecting.
TYT Newsroom
