Animal shelter staff threw away all blankets, towels, sheets, animal beds and other similar items

The Pennsylvania Humane Society, an umbrella animal charity working in partnership, as I understand it, with animal shelters, is seeking donations after a parvo outbreak contaminated items in one of their shelters.

Cat infected with feline distemper. Image in public domain.

In other words, a shelter within their auspices which has not been named by the way, but is in Altoona, was sadly affected by a feline panleukopenia viral outbreak (aka parvo) which is highly contagious. This resulted in the staff deciding to throw away all the items with which the infected cat had come into contact which included the ones in the title.

The shelter concerned ran a fundraiser which raised $1820 to help offset the medical costs.

The Humane Society is seeking donations to help with replacing the items that have been discarded.

There is also a need for funding to pay for paper towels because the staff, in cleaning up with bleach and OdoBan disinfectant, are using paper towels which are disposable. This is in order to minimise further infections and to try and put a stop to the outbreak as soon as possible.

RELATED: Best Disinfectant for Feline Viruses.

Bleach is a very good killer of this contagious virus. We are told that the shelter cats are vaccinated against feline panleukopenia. Unfortunately, the vaccine is not 100% effective. Cats are testing positive. Treatment by veterinarians is expensive hence the need for more funding.

The shelter has 37 cats in foster homes and 53 cats at the shelter. The cats and foster homes obviously helps with quarantine issues.

Feline panleukopenia is not invariably fatal but it is a serious and highly contagious viral disease. The prognosis is variable depending upon several factors including overall health, the cat's age and the timing and effectiveness of medical intervention. Kittens have a higher mortality rate while adult cats are often more resilient with a better chance of survival.

It is essential to isolate infected cats from other cats in the shelter and practice good hygiene to curtail the spread of the virus.

Source: The Altoona Mirror.

-------

P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Are cats carriers of parvo?

Parvovirus - Wikimedia Commons file
Author: Nephron

Yes. "Parvo" is short for parvovirus. The feline panleukopenia virus is a member of the parvovirus family. The feline panleukopenia virus causes the infectious disease feline panleukopenia which is also called feline distemper (a misleading name). It is sometimes referred to as panleuk.

The feline panleukopenia virus is highly contagious and "is present wherever there are susceptible animals" (1). Wild cats, mink, ferrets and monk serve as a reservoir.

Cats that are immune to reinfection can shed the virus for weeks. There are asymptomatic carriers (infected animals with no symptoms). This causes repeated exposure in a group of cats. This can actually boost immunity in cats that are already immune through antibodies.

Kittens can be infected before birth. For these kittens mortality rate is 90%. It can cause brain damage in kittens.

Read more: Feline Distemper Symptom and Panleuk or Feline Distemper.

Note: (1) Cat Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook ISBN 978-0-470-09530-0