What are the Risks of Infection?

Every infectious disease is caused by a living organism.  In the cases of Distemper, Canine Hepatitis and Parvovirus these living organisms are all Viruses.  To become infected with any of these three diseases, a dog needs to lack immunity to the disease and be exposed to the causative virus at the same time.

Canine Distemper

It is understood from inquiries made by one member of our group that the last confirmed case of Canine Distemper in Western Australia occured a few decades ago in a small wheatbelt town. 

A UK Veterinarian who specialized in kennel management had this to say about Canine Distemper:

"The distemper virus once outside the body cells of its host and at liberty in kennels or on the air is easily destroyed, by sunlight, or even exposure to room temperatures for four days.  It will survive for months in temperatures below freezing."

That Veterinarian was R.C.G. Hancock B.Sc, M.R.C.V.S.  He is a past President of the British Veterinary Association and formerly Chief Veterinary Officer of the RSPCA (UK).

It is suggested that if the UK version of sunlight is sufficient to kill the distemper virus then Australia's sunlight would be quite capable of doing the same.

Canine Hepatitis

It has not been possible for anyone in our group to assertain when the last case of Canine Hepatitis (which is different than the human form) occured in Australia.  It is known that there has not been a single case of Canine Hepatitis in the United States for more than two decades.  It is suggested that the same probably applies here in Australia.

Parvovirus

Parvovirus remains a serious threat and warrants ongoing concern.  However, this disease is primarily a threat to puppies.  How many healthy adults have ever contracted Parvo? 

There are known to be cases where breeders have lost litters of previously healthy puppies to confirmed Parvovirus infection - shortly after those pups were given the (live virus) vaccine on the understanding that it would prevent the disease.

Statistics on Vaccination Status

A 2004 Industry survey in the UK revealed that approximately 50% of dogs and 2/3rds of cats are not 'adequately' vaccinated - with many of these animals having never been vaccinated at all.  It is suggested that if a similar survey were done in Australia then there would be similar findings here.  If re-vaccination is necessary to ensure immunity against these highly contagious diseases, then why are the unvaccinated dogs not getting sick from these diseases and why are there no epidemics?