Canine Viral Hepatitis

Canine Viral Hepatitis (Infectious Canine Hepatitis or ICH) is an acute viral infection common in young dogs, affecting the liver and inner lining of blood vessels, caused by a virus which is inhaled or ingested by a dog.

Canine viral hepatitis targets the liver, kidneys, eyes, and the blood vessels. The most common symptoms: - fever, lack of appetite, vomiting, intense thirst, abdominal tenderness, and bleeding. If the fever persists more than two days, other signs become apparent - general signs of distress and an attitude of apathy, followed by a partial or complete loss of appetite, combined with intense thirst and redness of the mouth lining.

Puppies between two and six weeks of age have the highest mortality rate. The severity of the illness, which may occur at any time during the year, varies from an unnoticeable disease to a fatal infection. In some puppies, a fever that lasts a day or two with lethargy, malaise, and a decreased appetite, will be followed by recovery. Some dogs with partial immunity may develop a chronic, persistent hepatitis.

The canine infectious hepatitis virus persists for months in the urine of most dogs that recover from the infection, serving as a constant source of infection to susceptible dogs.

Because of similarities in signs, canine infectious hepatitis has long been confused with another important disease of dogs, canine distemper. Furthermore, these diseases may occur simultaneously. After recovery, a dog is immune to both diseases. Immunity against both diseases can also be produced by the administration of distemper virus modified by culture in hens' eggs in combination with canine hepatitis virus derived from infected dogs.

Prevention by Vaccination

Prevention by vaccination is thus the best way to protect dogs from this highly contagious disease. All dogs should be vaccinated every three or four weeks from six or eight to sixteen weeks of age, then yearly thereafter.