Alson W. Sears DVM copyright 1999

(For more information, go to the Distemper donor dog blog.)

1. The following protocol is for the production of anti-Distemper serum.
2. This serum is used S.Q. for the elimination of Distemper virus in acutely infected dogs.
3. Early treatment is recommended. Less than 4 days of illness.
4. Treat for bacterial pneumonia for at least seven days!
5. Recovery of acute Distemper Disease is usually within 12 to 48 hours.
6. This is species specific but, can be induced and used in any other species that are susceptible to distemper or related diseases.

Procedures for making serum
1. Dog- use an 8-12 month old mixed breed dog 60-100 lbs, young and healthy.
2. Do full lab work up to eliminate all possible health problems.
3. Vaccinate against all local diseases.
4. Do not use breeds or individuals known to have immune deficiency problems.
5. Make up Newcastle virus vaccine 1000 dose vial. (Use only 10 cc of diluent. Discard balance.) La Sota strain. This virus is your cell immunity inducer.
6. Place IV Catheter in dog.
7. Inject 2-3cc of Newcastle virus I.V. (shock may occur. Treat with I.V fluids accordingly) (Do Not use Corticosteroids)
9. Induction of Anti-Distemper serum may only be done once on any dog. The second time around only antibodies to NewcastleÕs disease is produced.
8. Timing is essential. Take blood 11-12 hours post injection (11-12 hrs post injection= Anti-viral factors=Very effective against Distemper Virus in VIVO.)
9. All procedures must be sterile. 11-12 hours post injection anesthetize donor dog.
10. Place Jugular catheter.
11. Start I.V fluids.
12. Withdraw blood and inject into 10cc blood vials [sterile no additive vials] and allow the blood to clot.
13. Centrifuge immediately after clotting for clear serum. Do not allow RBCs to lyse.
14. Remove serum and place into sterile bottles.
15. Place serum bottles in baggies and store in refrigerator. Bottles of serum can be stored for up to five years in a refrigerator.
16. Cryo-precipitates may form after refrigeration. Mixing causes clouding. This is not harmful.
17. May be filtered out with a .02micron filter. Keep sterile.

Distemper types
1. Young un-vaccinated dogs, usually from pounds. Dogs with all the recognizable symptoms i.e. pneumonia, catarrh, fever, diarrhea, collapse, inclusions in bladder. Elevated antidistemper IgG, IgM .
2. Mild nondescript diseases shows transient signs often not recognized in early stages, quick recovery, can be confused with kennel cough. The secondary symptoms appear later. I.E. chorea, demyelination, hard pad, nasal symptoms, pneumonia, ocular symptoms K/S and old dog encephalitis.
3. New Form of Distemper. Relatively rare- adult dog fully vaccinated multiple times breaks with some symptoms of distemper, the exposure factor unknown-possible wild species exposure. May be new strain of distemper.
4. Vaccine induced type- no pneumonia, no inclusions in body, seizures, and inclusions in brain. No other pathology found upon autopsy. Elisa tests for Distemper antibody of CSF (+), No inclusions in the bladder, no inclusions in conjunctiva. Do not use Distemper / Parvo combination Vaccines. Some dogs suffer from distemper inclusion encephalitis. No treatment that I know of available. Treatment Rx For types 1-2-3. Give lcc per 10pounds plus 1 cc per animal. Three treatments every twelve hours subcutaneously for 3 total treatments. For example 20 lb dog 2 cc + 1 cc Give 3 cc each treatment.
Give antibiotics for one week to control secondary symptoms of pneumonia. I have had best results with 2 separate antibiotics simultaneously. Give fluids to control shock on initial presentation. In desperate circumstances, in the absence of available serum, NewcastlesÕs vaccine can be injected IV, directly into sick dogs. If they are not already severally compromised by the distemper virus they can respond and recover from distemper. Results Complete cessation of all symptoms of distemper in 12-48 hours. Except for secondary bacterial pneumonia which must be treated for at least 7 days.
Opinion:
It has been my observation that animals treated early do not have secondary neurologic symptoms. I would recommend all dogs suspected of distemper have full white cell count, lab work. Run antidistemper antibody IgG, IgM to confirm distemper. An additional test to confirm distemper, do a brush border slide of the bladder transitional epithelium. Stain with Dif-Quick. About 90% of the bladder cells will be positive for inclusions in the early stages of distemper. Rarely inclusions can be seen in the red cells. I have never seen inclusions in the conjunctiva. An IFA test of the conjunctiva to test for inclusions is available. I have no experience with this test. It is best to initiate all the tests and then give serum. Wait for the test results after treating. If wrong no adverse reactions if right you are ahead of the game for stopping the virus. Dogs can be treated later in the disease, after 4 to 6 days, but the serum will not undo viral damage that has already taken place. It is therefore best to treat in the early stages, or with the first acute symptoms. Dogs already showing neurologic effects of the distemper virus cannot be helped.

If anybody has any questions please feel free to contact me. AntiDistemper@aol.com