Rare dog disease confirmed

Lindsay Sandham

A dog in the Newport Beach peninsula area was diagnosed with canine

distemper Saturday, a highly contagious and sometimes fatal disease

that is of great concern among pet owners.

Dr. Eman Jassim, veterinarian at Peninsula Animal Hospital in

Newport Beach, said the final results came in Saturday confirming the

diagnosis.

She said it is rare to see distemper in Newport Beach, where

people frequently have their pets vaccinated.

Distemper can affect the brain and the nervous system.

“They could potentially have seizures for a lifetime, and that’s

if they make it through the disease,” Jassim said.

According to Jassim, a pet can be exposed to the virus without

actually getting sick and they can still spread it to other animals.

“The most common symptom is they have a lot of discharge from the

nose,” she said.

Canine distemper affects different dogs in different ways. It

attacks many different organ systems, and some strains of the virus

are more severe than others.

Russell Taylor of Silverado, who operates an Animal Rescue service

in Orange County, said he’s heard of distemper more in areas such as

the Inland Empire, but he has never heard of it being in Newport

Beach. He said he has never dealt with distemper.

“Any disease that is contagious is an issue anywhere you’ve got a

lot of animals.” Taylor said.

He said all of the animals at his rescue center are vaccinated,

but there’s always a danger.

Canine distemper is an airborne virus that is spread through

droplets of body fluid. Jassim said it is most commonly found in

puppies because they are not fully vaccinated.

“For puppies, we have to keep vaccinating a number of times until

they are 16 weeks of age,” Jassim said. “Each dog is different as far

as when they’re going to be able to be vaccinated.”

Older pets should be vaccinated once a year, and that is generally

understood by veterinarians to be sufficient, Jassim said.

“The reason why it’s such a big deal is we don’t usually see it in

this area,” she said. “It isn’t a reason to panic, but it is a reason

for everyone to look at their pet’s record, and if they have any

questions, talk to their veterinarian. We want to keep the amount of

disease out there as low as possible.”