548 – Canine Herpes Virus from the Veterinary Perspective

Canine Herpes Virus from the Veterinary Perspective
[caption id="attachment_10897" align="alignleft" width="253"] BRUCE W. CHRISTENSEN, DVM, MS, DACT[/caption]

Dr. Bruce Christensen, DVM from Kokopelli Assisted Reproductive Services, joins host Laura Reeves to talk about treating pregnant dogs and their puppies for Canine Herpes Virus.

Last week we heard from Alaskan Malamute breeder Wendy Korr on her experience with this potentially devastating disease in her litter. Today we are joined by the veterinarian who led the treatment of dam and puppies with a refresher course on CHV.

“Herpes virus is not something that we typically screen for on a routine basis with our breeding bitches,” Christensen said. “It could be argued that maybe we should, but I guess in our conversation today we can probably talk about why that is or isn't so.

“The bottom line is that it's a pretty common virus. And so most bitches, and stud dogs, have been exposed to it and have it essentially, although it's not actively causing disease in most of them. However, the dangerous thing is if a bitch hasn't been exposed to herpes virus and then she's initially exposed to it while she's pregnant, especially in that last half of gestation.

“That would be the most dangerous time because the first time that an animal is exposed to herpes virus, they have the strongest immune response and the least prepared immune response, so the virus has more of a head start. Since the body hasn't seen it before, there aren't any lingering antibodies to recognize the virus and mount a quicker subsequent response. So the initial response is a little slower at coming and gives the virus more time to do damage. And that damage during the second-half of pregnancy will involve the fetuses and potentially much more likely infect them.

“If a bitch has been exposed before, then she'll have antibodies and she's already got the virus in her, just in the latent state. And if it reproduces or comes back out, her immune system should be adequate enough to protect the puppies that are in utero. So if you find that she's naive, in other words that she has not been exposed to herpes virus, then you need to be hyper vigilant about keeping her away from other dogs throughout the rest of her pregnancy because you don't want her to be exposed for the first time during her pregnancy.

“So that dog needs to be on real lockdown and isolation from any outside dogs. If you have dogs in your household that will have contact with her 'cause it just be too difficult to keep them apart, they need to be tested. And if they're negative, then they could continue to have contact with her and no other dogs. If they're positive, then you probably wanna temporarily rehome them to keep them away from her during that pregnancy so that they don't potentially spread it to her while she's pregnant.

“Most species have their own herpes viruses and they're not communicable between species. We all know coronavirus jumps between species because of what the world's gone through in the last couple years, right? Herpes virus doesn't do that. It pretty much stays true to the species it's evolved with.

“But once you get a herpes infection, the viruses pretty much behave the same. They go into your cells and they stay in your cells for your lifetime. Now they're usually quiet and just sit there, not replicating, just quiet inside the cells. Usually, it's in times of stress that they are triggered. Everybody listening to this podcast is going to be familiar with herpes virus in people, ‘Damn it, I got a cold sore.’ So that's because the virus. Once you've got it, it's in your body forever and during times of stress it'll come out and cause those annoying problems. In the dog, it's the same.

“Once a dog becomes exposed to herpes virus, it's in the dog for life, but most of the time it's just quiet inside the cells....