EARLIER this year, recognised local veterinarian Dr Steve Surujbally urged dog owners along Guyana’s coastal communities to vaccinate their pets as soon as possible, following a worrying increase in cases of canine distemper.
Providing a general update at his Durbana Square office on Friday, Dr Surujbally confirmed that there is a marked decline in canine distemper cases after alerting citizens and generally pet owners, and dog lovers some four months ago of this disease.
According to the veterinarian, “Things are looking better, but when my colleague spoke of the morphing of the virus, there might have been other things that are causing this thing to spread- and one of them, there are several things actually, one of them is the actual vaccine that we are using itself. Because if the virus is morphed and changed its structure, then, and I think my colleague mentioned that too, that in fact the vaccine will not work optimally. So that’s one thing.”
Dr Surujbally listed reasons why canine distemper may return and why the vaccines given for the disease may not work.
According to the doctor, if the vaccine has been compromised it won’t work as it should to fight off the virus attacking the dog. He questioned where the vaccines come from, does it cover canine distemper or just some other diseases, as well as who is administering this vaccine. Is it a registered veterinarian or at least a person that is governed by a registered veterinarian, and how often is the vaccine meant to be administered to the pup?
“All these things have to be taken into consideration when you’re going to be administering the vaccination. Not just because the vaccine is good, but how was it stored? How was it transported? Has it been given in the correct dosage? Is the annual vaccine up to date?”. He emphasised that vaccination continues after the animal receives all of its puppy shots.
Speaking more on ensuring timely vaccinations, Dr Surujbally said that six weeks after the animal is born it should be vaccinated.
He listed other agencies such as the Guyana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Paws for a Cause and Tales of Hope that serve as support to veterinary clinics in terms of promoting timely vaccinations and health checks for animals.
“So that helps. But even more importantly is that the persons say the puppy is cute when it’s small. Then suddenly you realise you have to pay veterinary bills. You have to feed the animal. You have to take care of the animal in so many different ways. Deworm the animal at certain points. If you’re not prepared to do that, I think we’re doing the animal a disservice and stopping the animal from breeding. Or worse, when you abandon the animal onto the highways and byways of Guyana, and they get knocked down or they’re not vaccinated. Then that doesn’t help that animal,” he advised.
Asked about other diseases, Dr Surujbally said as of right now, there is no disease outbreak that pet owners should be aware of.
“Not that I know of, but I tell you one thing. If I do some research with my colleagues out in the field as well, in other regions, and they say yes, they’ve seen something raising its ugly head, I will get back to you, and we will make a national alert on the matter,” he said.
