Therapeutic use of homeopathic preparation Conium maculatum in the management of canine distemper in dogs

Introduction

Canine Distemper (CD) is a highly contagious and fatal viral disease in dogs and wild animals including elephants and lions. The disease is caused by a fragile, enveloped, single stranded RNA virus called morbillivirus belong to the family paramyxoviridae (Martella et al., 2008) [8] . As the disease progresses, virus disseminates systemically, affecting multiple organ systems including the respiratory, gastrointestinal, integumentary, and central nervous systems. Neurological complications are particularly severe and may persist as chronic sequelae even after the acute phase of infection (Greene and Decaro, 2012) [4] . Despite the availability of effective vaccines, outbreaks of CDV continue to occur, particularly in inadequately vaccinated or stray dog populations. No specific antiviral therapy exists, and current treatment is largely based on symptomatic therapy. Management primarily relies on supportive therapy and symptomatic treatment. Anticonvulsant drugs, such as phenobarbital, are commonly employed to control seizures and other neurological manifestations. In recent years, interest has grown in the use of natural and alternate vet therapies, including herbal extracts and homeopathic medicines for the management of neurological disorders. Some of these agents have demonstrated promising anticonvulsant and neuro protective properties with relatively fewer side effects (Huang et al., 2020) [6] . This report emphasize the therapeutic use of Conium maculatum could be recommended as an adjunct to routine therapy for neurological form of canine distemper virus infection in dogs, thus indicating further research into the effectiveness of homoeopathic drugs.

Case History and Observations

This study was carried out in dogs presented to VCC, NTR CVSc, Gannvaram during the period of January to December 2025 with signs of chorea, temporal twitching, mucopurulent nasal discharges, paresis or paralysis of hind limbs were included in the study. All the dogs under study were subjected to complete clinical examination, hemogram and confirmed with rapid immunocrhomatographic assay. All the cases in this study were treated empirically with anticonvulsant, antibiotic, supportive therapy along with homeopathic preparation conium maculatum 30c five pills twice daily for 30 days. Clinical outcome of the condition was monitored.

Results and Discussion

A total of 22 dogs presented during the study period with signs of chorea/myoclonus, temporal twitching, mucopurulent nasal and or ocular discharges, paresis or paralysis of hind limbs suggestive of canine distemper were considered and confirmed by rapid immunocrhomatographic assay. Age wise distribution of canine distemper (CD) revealed that 59.09% (13/22) of cases were recorded in young dogs aged <1 year (ranging 2 to 10 months) and remaining 40.91% (9/22) of dogs aged >1year (range 1-14). Males were represented more frequently with CD (72.73%, 16/22) than females (27.27%, 6/22). Among affected dogs, eight were mongrel (36.36%, 8/22) followed by Labrador Retriever (18.18%, 4/22), Spitz (13.63%, 3/22) and Dachshund (9.09, 2/22). The occurrence was less in Golden Retriever, Boxer, Cocker Spaniel, Doberman and Terrier breeds (4.55%, 1/22 each). Majority of affected dogs were unvaccinated 68.18% (15/22) followed by irregularly vaccinated (22.73%, 5/22) and regular vaccination was done only in two cases (9.09%) (Fig. 1234). In the present study highest number of cases were present in the age group <1 year and our results were in agreement with the findings of Martella et al. (2008) and Devi et al 2022 [1] might be due to immature immune system and waning maternal antibodies. Majority of CD infected dogs were nondescriptive males. This could be due to the fact that local nondescript dogs were not vaccinated regularly against CD and moreover, their population was higher than cross bred as well as pure breed dogs, which make them most susceptible to the disease. Significant clinical sings observed in dogs affected with canine distemper were inappetence and chorea, followed by temporal twitching ocular or nasal discharges, paresis or paralysis of limbs, hyperkeratosis of foot pads, pyrexia, vomiting, pustules on ventral abdomen and seizures (Table 1, Fig. 56789101112). Similar signs were reported by Geetha and Selvaraju, 2021 [3] , Kumar and Sirisha, 2025 [7] who stated that clinical signs are often inapparent or initially mild during initial phase of fever are mucopurulent oculonasal discharges, conjunctivitis, respiratory distress, anorexia, vomiting, diarrhea and dehydration, and cutaneous rash finally ends up in nervous signs like generalized myoclonus, hypermetria, chorea, chewing gum seizures and flexor spasms either alone or in combination. [9,2] . Due to the efficacy of Conium maculatum in posterior paralysis, neurological dysfunction and weakness cases, this homeopathy remedy was suggested in canine distemper affected dogs. Cefquinome is 4 th generation cephalosporin which is betalactamase resistant which can cross blood brain barrier to check the meningitis due to secondary bacterial infection (Hardfeldt and Prescott, 2024) [5] . The severity of canine distemper infection was determined with various hindrance factors viz., immunity, virus strain and environmental influence of secondary pathogens.

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