1048. Canine distemper kills dogs in Pulau Ubin, Singapore

Aug 19, 2012

Pulau Ubin is an island very near to Singapore. Many Singaporeans take a boat to go there for a holiday. Sometimes they bring their dogs along. Yesterday, there was a Straits Times Report saying that some stray dogs that had died in Pulau Ubin recently. The AVA issued a report saying that autopsy report of one dog revealed that it had died from Canine distemper viral infection.

No info on the presentation signs of the dead dogs in Pulau Ubin or the dog that had been autopsied.

Vaccination does prevent canine distemper but few Singapore owners do regular yearly vaccination after puppy hood.

I had seen a few cases of Singapore dogs with fits. One of the reasons could be distemper viral infections of the brain. Check and if the foot pads are hard, it is possible that the dog had previous exposure to distemper virus and develop fits.

Many well-read dog owners surfed the internet and accepted the advices that their dogs should not be  vaccinated after the puppy vaccinations or only once in 3 years or only after checking the antibodies. A group would say that yearly vaccination is not good for the dog. So they don't vaccinate as they believe in the internet group.

In Singapore, the vaccines are combined vaccines and those recommended for 3-yearly vaccinations are not single vaccines like just parvo virus or distemper virus vaccines. Therefore, a little bit of internet knowledge puts the pet dog at risk of getting diseases.