Towards the end of April, dog parents were alerted of a possible Canine Distemper outbreak in the UAE. In a heart-breaking post a resident from the Dubai Hills community spoke about how her 16 months old, vaccinated puppy had contracted canine distemper and was fighting for life. This was not an isolated incident, which caused worry among pet parents and doggy day care and boarding facilities. Throughout May we came across social media posts about a possible fear of a Canine Distemper outbreak. However, here’s comes the good news and an update: No new case of Canine Distemper in the UAE.

Read here to know more about Canine Distemper

Canine Distemper cases have died down, confirm veterinary clinics

To get an update on the Canine Distemper outbreak reported throughout May, we contacted some Dubai-based veterinary clinics that confirmed they have not seen any new cases lately.

“We saw no extra cases of Distemper,” said Dr. Sam Westhead, Veterinary Surgeon at Amity Veterinary Clinic. “However, I’d like to reiterate that proper vaccination is essential as unvaccinated dogs can get infected easily.”

We also reached out to Dr. Well Veterinary Clinic and got positive news that they have not had any Canine Distemper cases either at their clinic.

Doggy day cares have taken necessary precautions

In view of the Canine Distemper outbreak in the UAE, many doggy day care and boarding facilities had made VacciCheck mandatory as a necessary precaution. It is a blood test to determine antibody levels of dogs against DHPPL [a combination vaccine of distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis, parainfluenza and parvo].

To get an update on the current situation, we reached out to Dubai-based doggy day care and boarding facility Romi’s Home Pet Nursery. “Personally, I haven’t heard of anymore cases,” said owner Romi Banerjee. “Fortunately, even during that time [end of April and throughout May] none of our dogs got infected.”

Always be careful

Although it’s a huge relief that the cases of Canine Distemper have died down in the UAE, if a pet parent is doubtful about any symptoms that their dogs are displaying consulting a veterinary doctor is ideal.

Note: This article is meant for information and awareness and should not be considered as medical opinion.