History of Dog Parvo Virus

Originally discovered in the 1960’s, variations on the current strain of canine Parvovirus began to emerge in the late 1970’s. This was known as canine parvovirus 2, or CPV2.

Before a vaccine could be developed, thousands of dogs were afflicted with parvo, leading to many deaths.

In 1980, another very similar strain developed, replacing CPV-2, which was labelled CPV-2a. In the mid 1980s, a further strain developed, labelled CPV-2b, which emerged as the most prominent of the parvovirus strains. This is the most common form of the parvo virus which afflicts puppies and dogs today.

Whilst a great deal has been learned about the canine parvovirus since its discovery, there is much which is still unknown. However, vaccines do exist for parvo, and although they are not 100% effective in preventing an infection, they do prevent an enormous amount of parvovirus and in turn, further spreading of the virus.