Canine Hepatitis

CANINE HEPATITIS-

Canine infectious hepatitis (also known as canine adenovirus 1) is caused by a virus that can infect many tissues, but usually attacks the liver, causing hepatitis, or inflammation of the liver.  There are two types of adenovirus. They are called canine adenovirus type 1 (CAV-1) and type 2 (CAV-2). CAV-1 causes infectious hepatitis and CAV-2 causes an upper respiratory disease that can be a component of kennel cough. CAV-1 is transmitted by the urine, stool or saliva of an infected dog. This can occur directly or by licking an object that the infected animal has urinated on. Aerosol transmission does not seem to occur with CAV-1. The organism first travels to the lymphatic system and makes its way to the blood stream. Eventually the virus replicates in and destroys cells of the liver and cells that line the surface of organs, blood vessels and lymphatic vessels.

Symptoms

Clinical signs include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy and anorexia.  Because the virus can also attack blood vessels, there may be a nosebleed or other evidence of hemorrhage.  The liver may be enlarged and the abdomen can be painful. Harsh lung sounds may be heard. When cells that line the eyes are infected, a bluish cloudiness to the cornea can be seen and your pet may be sensitive to bright lights.

Diagnosis

A swab of infected tissue (tonsils) can be made and sent to a laboratory where an attempt is made to isolate the virus. Also, a stool sample using an ELISA test, or a blood test to check for a high antibody titer can all be helpful in diagnosing this disease. An “antibody” is made by each individual mammal to help identify and destroy unwanted viral particles that may enter the body. Vaccines contain a killed, or modified, version of a virus so that our body will respond and make antibodies against the virus. The blood test will check for a very large amount of antibodies to the virus. This way we can make sure that the positive titer is due to disease rather than vaccination.

Treatment

As with other types of viral disease, there is no specific treatment.  We offer supportive care to combat dehydration and secondary bacterial infection. We also offer nutritional guidelines and may suggest appropriate vitamins and nutriceuticals.  Thereafter, specific treatment will be geared to the organ system affected.

Prevention

Most adult dogs that develop infectious canine hepatitis recover, but the disease in puppies is often fatal. The best prevention is avoidance of other dogs until your dog is fully immunized. The vaccine for CAV-1 can often cause clinical signs of the disease in patients. For this reason, we use the CAV-2 vaccine which cross protects against CAV-1. This disease is not contagious to people or cats.