[jal8181988]

Took 4 of my puppies to the vet last week for their first set of 5-in-1 vaccines. Prior to vaccination, all of them were completely healthy and energetic. The vet even took their temp to make sure they're not sick. We carried on with the vaccine except for one, since this puppy had an upset stomach 2 days before (vomitting but not lethargic). I made sure to tell the vet about this so she also advised me to wait for 3 more days for this particular puppy. Again, we carried on with vaccinating the other 3.

As a pet owner all my life, I'm aware how it's normal for the puppy to feel a bit lethargic 2-3 days after the vaccine, just as long as he's eating. My puppies were completely fine during this period. After 5 days, one of them started showing signs of parvo so we put them all in separate cages. The one who showed parvo symptoms eventually died. 😭 And now the other two are sick too, with one showing The one that didn't take the vaccine is perfectly fine and energetic. I'm just utterly confused and heartbroken right now. What on earth went wrong? How come the one who didnt take the vaccine is perfectly fine while the ones who had their 5-in-1 got really sick?! Will appreciate all comments.

 

[parus]

I'm so sorry about your pup. I hope the others recover well.

The parvo vaccine isn't consistently effective in puppies until the series of jabs is finished and the vaccine has had time to trigger a response. Also, parvovirus has an incubation period - it can take anywhere from a few days to over a week for exposure to cause visible illness. So it's sadly entirely possible for a puppy to fall ill with parvo despite having recently gotten their first parvo jab.

It's actually possible the puppy that was previously ill had a subclinical case of parvo and successfully fought it off, although I think that would be unusual for a young puppy.

 

[DaySleepers]

I'm very sorry. Are the sick pups under veterinary care? If it is parvo, survival is much lower without fluids and medical support. I'd also want them officially diagnosed, and the deceased puppy necropsied if possible, to be absolutely sure what this illness is and how best to treat the sick pups and keep the healthy one healthy.

Parvo is a modified live vaccine, but it's a very safe vaccine. There's no chance the vaccine caused parvo, but there may be a chance that the pups picked up something from the vet's office itself.

Best of luck.