Canine Coronavirus (Corona)
What is corona?
Corona is a highly contagious virus that may cause mild diarrhoea in dogs. Most other infections may go unnoticed due to the mild nature of the symptoms. Puppies may be more severely affected.
Symptoms
Symptoms are most commonly seen in puppies and include diarrhoea, lack of appetite, depression and occasionally fever. This virus will sometimes be present at the same time as other infections such as canine parvovirus, in which case the overall disease may be even worse.
What causes corona?
Corona is caused by a highly contagious virus transmitted through the mouth or nose from faeces. Once infected, symptoms develop between 1-5 days after infection and the virus is shed in the faeces for approximately 2 weeks.
Treatment
The majority of dogs recover from corona without any specific treatment. Treatment usually consists of intravenous fluids to help correct fluid loss due to diarrhoea and antibiotics to treat potential secondary infections.
Prevention
Infected dogs should be kept away from healthy dogs and it’s advisable to clean bedding and the bedding area with appropriate disinfectants.
