ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Lehigh Valley Humane Society says its dogs are now "healthy and ready to be adopted" after an outbreak of a highly contagious virus at its shelter this month.
The organization said an outbreak of Canine Parvovirus caused it to take a 14-day quarantine recommended by the American Veterinary Medical Association and there no longer are any cases of Canine Parvovirus at the shelter.
It is set to reopen to the public on Saturday, July 1, according to a society statement.
- Lehigh Valley Humane Society said its dogs now are safe to adopt from its shelter after a Canine Parvovirus outbreak
- The outbreak was followed by a quarantine for the affected dogs and a closure to the public
- Since the strain of virus is not transmissible to other animals the shelter houses, rabbits and cats were not affected
Canine Parvovirus is highly contagious virus whose symptoms include lethargy, vomiting, fever and diarrhea.
Not all dogs at the shelter were exposed to the virus, and those affected were quarantined, the shelter said.
"The Lehigh Valley Humane Society experienced a diagnosis of Canine Parvovirus in our shelter dog population. Once this positive test was confirmed by our chief veterinarian we immediately moved to close our facility and quarantine our dogs for a recommended 14-day period in accordance with AVMA standards. During this 14-day quarantine our staff has followed strict disease mitigation protocols to ensure that all kennel areas were thoroughly cleaned and disinfected."Part of a statement from Lehigh Valley Humane Society's CEO Hal Warner
The specific strain of Canine Parvovirus can't be transmitted to other animals in the shelter, so adoption procedures continued as normal for cats, rabbits, and other animals.
The outbreak first was announced on the Lehigh Valley Humane Society's Facebook page on June 12.
'Healthy and ready to be adopted'
Humane Society Chief Executive Officer Hal Warner initially declined to comment on the matter and asked LehighValleyNews.com "for the sake of the animals" not do a news article, saying it could cause a decline in animal adoptions.
The Humane Society later issued a release, saying it "experienced a diagnosis of Canine Parvovirus in our shelter dog population."
"At this time all of our dogs are healthy and ready to be adopted."Lehigh Valley Humane Society statement
"Once this positive test was confirmed by our chief veterinarian we immediately moved to close our facility and quarantine our dogs for a recommended 14-day period in accordance with AVMA standards," the release states.
"During this 14-day quarantine our staff has followed strict disease mitigation protocols to ensure that all kennel areas were thoroughly cleaned and disinfected."
The statement expressed gratitude to the shelter's staff for its hard work during the quarantine period.
"At this time all of our dogs are healthy and ready to be adopted," it concluded.
Canine Parvovirus
Canine Parvovirus is almost exclusive to dogs, though some strains can affect animals including skunks, wolves and cats.
Its first symptoms are usually lethargy in dogs. If detected early, the virus can often be treated in dogs — and the main danger often comes from the dehydration that the dogs face, attributed to loss of fluids.
It can be detected with a fluid test, similar to the type that humans use for rapid-testing of COVID-19.
A vaccine exists for the virus. It is usually recommended to puppies ages 7-8 weeks. The vaccine is called the DA2PPC vaccine.
According to guidance from the Koret Shelter Medicine Program at U.C. Davis, Parvovirus is so common in most dog shelters that recently-adopted dogs from any shelter should be monitored for 14 days to watch for signs of infection.
