Canine Distemper

Canine distemper is a disease affecting many types of animals.  Dogs from four months to four years old are particularly susceptible. It prevails most in spring and autumn. The disease generally manifests itself by a dullness of the eye, jaundice (yellowing of eyes), husky cough, shivering, loss of appetite and energy, and occasional fits. While afflicted with canine distemper, dogs should be allowed to run on grass and their diet should be sparse. Canine distemper virus has a tropism for lymphoid, epithelial, and nervous tissues. Therefore, the typical pathologic features of canine distemper include lymphoid depletion, interstitial pneumonia, encephalitis with demyelination, and hyperkeratosis of foot pads . Histologic examination reveals intranuclear and intracytoplasmic eosinophilic inclusion bodies in numerous tissues.  There exist a number of vaccines against canine distemper for dogs and domestic ferrets, which in many jurisdictions are mandatory for pets. The type of vaccine should be approved for the type of animal being inoculated, or else the animal could actually contract the disease from the vaccine. Animals should be quarantined if infected.