lucknow vinod kumar a resident of sarojininagar is disturbed for the past few days after the deadly parvovirus infection claimed the life of his pet dog bolthis bond with bolt was very strong and the fact that timely action could have saved the twoyearold german shepherd is haunting himwhile the pet suffered from high fever and poor appetite for two days kumar thought it could be because of allergy or flu when its condition deteriorated he took it to a vet who diagnosed that the pet had parvovirus infection as the infection was in the late stage bolt died within six daysi got the pet vaccinated against parvovirus about 15 months ago but had no idea that it had to be repeated after a gap of 12 months due to the three months delay bolt got infected with the virus which i was also not aware would be fatal he told toi kumar is not the only one facing this problem the city is witnessing an outbreak of parvovirus infection among pet dogsa ccording to veterinarians they are receiving 4050 cases per week in comparison to 56 weekly earlier if not reported on time the infection could turn fatal in fact the death of two pet dogs have been reported so far the virus is extremely contagious but can be maintained through vaccination said dr shambhu chaudhary a private veterinarian who runs his clinic on rae bareli road parvovirus infection is very common in winter but this time we are witnessing the outbreak in summers because of fluctuation in weather conditions and huge variation in temperatures due to the recent rainy spell he added another citybased veterinarian dr rajneesh chandra said the virus attacks the intestinal tracts and stomach of dogs especially of the exotic breeds leading to fever loss of appetite and dysentery which if not treated early could result in death the virus he added is highly contagious and spreads from one dog to another in the vicinity through air and touch if kept in close proximity or while coming in contact during strolls in places like parks etc fever followed by loss of appetite and vomiting are the early signs of the infection people must take dogs to vets rather than relying on over the counter drugs based on symptoms of allergy or flu he said