Prognostic Factorial Index for Dogs with Canine Distemper

Abstract

Background: Canine distemper (CD) is a highly fatal disease in dogs. Hence, it is important to document the factors which are significantly correlated with the poor prognosis amongst CD infected dogs to develop a prognostic index. Methods: Forty dogs positive for CD virus by nested reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (nRT-PCR) were included in our study at infectious Disease Unit (IDU), Madras Veterinary College Teaching Hospital, Chennai between March 2021 and August 2022. Two different herbal drugs were tried in two groups of dogs where each group comprised of 20 dogs and clinical responses were observed. Epidemiological and clinical data were collected and analysed between survival and non-survival groups using chi-square test. The statistically significant factors were further analysed by logistic regression to identify their strong association with the event of death. Kaplan-Meier curves for survival were constructed to explore differences in the survival time for different dogs. Result: The overall case fatality rate was found to be 55% (22/40). The event of death due to CD was observed in young dogs having ocular discharge with strong correlation but the chances of survival were found to increase when age advanced.