# canine herpes virus



## Lorri Rowlett (Feb 13, 2008)

Does anybody have any experience with this? I have a female who was pregnant one time with a puppy that died shortly after birth. Her titer came back at 1024, active herpes, right? We rebred and while she seemed to be in whelp, poor vet equipment made it really difficult to tell. She SEEMED to be and we did the c-section on the appropriate day. The vet evacuated "goop" (his word). He told us that she was textbook CHV and would never be able to breed. Prior to her spay, we took her to a reproductive vet who seems to feel, based on cytology, that she may not be herpes positive at all. He felt that her elevated titer was the result of exposure and that regardless of the high number, her immune system would compensate.
This is supposed to be very common in dogs, so common that the FDA has declined to approve the vaccine available in Europe.
Does anyone have any experience breeding a female with an elevated titer?
Thanks,
Lorri Rowlett


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Here's an excerpt from the Merck vet manual:



> Etiology:  The disease is caused by an enveloped DNA canine herpesvirus (CHV) that is sensitive to lipid solvents and most disinfectants. CHV is relatively unstable outside the host.  Transmission usually occurs by contact between susceptible puppies and the infected oral, nasal, or vaginal secretions of their dam or oral or nasal secretions of dogs allowed to commingle with puppies during the first 3 wk of life. In utero transmission may occur.  Infection of newborn susceptible puppies results in replication of CHV in the surface cells of the nasal mucosa, pharynx, and tonsils. If the pups become hypothermic, viremia and invasion of visceral organs occur.






> No vaccine is available. Infected bitches develop antibodies, and litters subsequent to the first infected litter receive maternal antibodies in the colostrum. Puppies that receive maternal antibodies may be infected with the virus, but disease does not result. Removing puppies from affected bitches by cesarean section and rearing them in isolation has prevented deaths under experimental conditions. However, infections have been noted even in puppies delivered by cesarean section. Deaths may be reduced when infected puppies are reared in incubators at increased temperatures (95°F [35°C], 50% relative humidity) and given adequate fluids and supportive therapy. The prognosis of puppies that survive neonatal infections of CHV is guarded because damage to lymphoid organs, brain, kidneys, and liver may be irreparable.


http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/56800.htm

Maybe her immune system would compensate, but that doesn't speak for the puppies. If it was me, if the pregnancy didn't take by the second breeding, I'd pass on breeding her in the future. Neonatal intensive care for puppies isn't cheap and could be detrimental in terms of early life exposure exercises you want to do for the pups, like the early neurological stimulation.


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