Distemper outbreak strikes Kern County dogs

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — Since it first broke out a few weeks ago, more a dozen dogs at Kern County Animal Services have been diagnosed with canine distemper.

"Just this week, we sent out 67 tests on some of the animals here in the shelter, and 16 of those animals came back testing positive for distemper,” said Nick Cullen, the director of Kern County Animal Services.

The viral disease is highly contagious and can affect everything from the brain and spinal cord to the respiratory system and gastrointestinal tracts.

Common symptoms include things like eye inflammation, high fever and nasal discharge, to name just a few.

"Here in Kern County, we face a problem where, not only is it an endemic area for diseases like parvo and distemper, but our vaccination practices are a little bit slow,” said Cullen.

But Kern County Animal Services is fighting back.

"We're going to try and save the animals that we can, we're going to implore and urge the public to vaccinate their animals, and we're going to do everything we can to make sure that the animals that come in here are well taken care of,” Cullen said.

And Cullen says that the outbreak won't have any effect on adoptions, since the shelter is taking all the necessary precautions with every animal that goes out its doors.

"No animal is going to leave here through adoption that has not been tested and cleared of the disease."