Canine parvovirus arrives on heels of rabies in Nakhon Si Thammarat
Seventeen dogs died at a Nakhon Si Thammarat temple on March 20-21 not from side effects of rabies vaccinations but from another contagious disease, canine parvovirus, local Livestock Development Office acting chief Siripong Polsiri, a veterinarian, said on Tuesday.
The dogs at Wat Pathammaram in Lan Saka district had been vaccinated against rabies on March 7, so their deaths led to speculation among monks and residents about a causal link.
Siripong on Monday led a team of officials in spraying the temple grounds with disinfectant and treating the surviving dogs.
He explained that the dogs had died from a different disease.
If a vaccinated dog were allergic to the anti-rabies serum, it would show symptoms to that effect within 15 minutes, he said, so the deaths on March 20-21 had nothing to do with the March 7 vaccinations.
Siripong said the temple was the province’s first site of an outbreak of canine parvovirus.
Monks said three or four of the vaccinated dogs per day vomited, would only drink water and died in their sleep beginning about a week after they had their shots.
They said some of the surviving dogs were showing similar symptoms.