DISTEMPER OUTBREAK PUTS LOCAL DOGS AT RISK.

Byline: Kerry Cavanaugh Staff Writer

Los Angeles Animal Services officials urged pet owners on Thursday to get their dogs vaccinated against canine distemper after an outbreak of the potentially fatal virus was detected at local shelters.

Puppies under 6 months and unvaccinated older dogs are especially susceptible to the highly contagious virus, officials said. It has no cure, and can affect a pet's respiratory, gastrointestinal and neurological systems.

``It kind of starts to spread like a wildfire. People who have puppies and don't vaccinate them are like dry leaves that burn,'' said Dr. Robert Goldman, president of the Southern California Veterinary Medical Association and a veterinarian at the Sepulveda Animal Hospital in Culver City.

``A lot of dogs will die, and typically a good percentage of the ones that aren't vaccinated will die.''

The virus is spread through saliva and through airborne particles.

Initial symptoms include fever, mild eye inflammation, nasal discharge and a lack of energy. As the illness progresses, dogs can suffer diarrhea, difficulty breathing, vomiting and, eventually, paralysis and seizures.

``If your animal is looking sick, it should be a red flag that something is wrong,'' said Jackie David, spokeswoman for the city's Animal Services Department. ``If you wait and the disease takes days or weeks to progress, you're taking a really big chance.''

Puppies should be vaccinated at 8 weeks, and that includes two follow-up shots, experts said. After that, vets recommend the distemper booster shot every one to three years, depending on the dog's overall health.

However, dog owners should call their vets to see whether an earlier booster is warranted during the outbreak.

Goldman suggests owners of puppies younger than 8 weeks old keep the animals inside until they are old enough for the vaccine.

``If you have a puppy that gets exposed to the virus, it can be a long haul,'' Goldman said.

Owners should also avoid stray dogs and unfamiliar dogs, he said. Humans can pick up the virus on their clothing and can spread it to dogs and puppies.

Los Angeles shelter officials said it's not uncommon to take in a dog with the virus every week or two, but officials declared an outbreak after recently seeing five or six dogs a week with the illness.

Distemper used to kill thousands of dogs a year before a vaccine was developed in the 1960s. Still, the virus often flares up in communities with large numbers of unvaccinated dogs and spreads to surrounding areas.

There was an outbreak in South Los Angeles in March and a citywide outbreak in 2002.

Ventura County suffered a three-week outbreak in its shelters in August.

``It was a bad strain but didn't last,'' said Kathy Jenks, director of Ventura County Animal Regulation. ``We nipped it in the bud real quick. Haven't seen it since; don't want it back.''

Los Angeles County Animal Care and Control operates a half-dozen shelters around the county, but spokeswoman Kay Michelson said the agency has not been hit by this outbreak.

``We do occasionally see distemper in the shelters. But we do not have a distemper outbreak.''

Kerry Cavanaugh, [phone]

kerry.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

(color) Karen Eisel, a veterinary technician, gives a canine patient an anti-distemper vaccination at the West Valley Animal Center.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer

Box:

CANINE DISTEMPER

SOURCE: City News Service

Gregg Miller/Staff Artist