Canine parvovirus (CPV) is one of the most serious infectious diseases of domestic dogs, causing severe haemorrhagic gastroenteritis with high mortality in unvaccinated puppies and representing a major preventable welfare burden globally.
Parvovirus causes severe suffering — intense pain from intestinal inflammation, extreme dehydration, weakness, and the distress of haemorrhagic diarrhoea over multiple days. Intensive treatment including intravenous fluids, antiemetics, and antibiotics for secondary infection can save lives, but is costly and not accessible to all owners. The disease is entirely preventable through vaccination, yet remains common in unvaccinated populations, particularly strays and dogs in regions with low vaccine coverage. Community vaccination campaigns and stray dog vaccination programmes prevent individual suffering at scale. Owners who delay or skip vaccination expose their puppies to unnecessary risk of a preventable and extremely painful disease.