VETS are urging dog owners to vaccinate their pets after a surge in cases of parvovirus across the north.

Clinics at Elizabeth, Paralowie and Smithfield said cases of the potentially deadly disease had risen sharply in the past six weeks.

Dr Michelle Starr, of the Smithfield Veterinary Clinic, said the virus was generally more prevalent in summer, perhaps because more people were out and about with their dogs.

Dr Gary Stevens, of the Elizabeth Park Veterinary Clinic, said the clinic was diagnosing three or four dogs a day with the virus, compared with the usual one dog every two to three weeks.

Parvovirus is a potentially deadly virus that attacks a dog’s stomach and intestines. Symptoms include vomiting, diarrhoea, lethargy and loss of appetite.

The highly contagious virus can live outside the body for up to three years and is passed on by a dog’s hair, paws and faeces.

“Even dog owners can transmit the virus by stepping on the pawprint of an infected dog,” Dr Stevens said.

“the bottom line is you have to vaccinate your dogs. if you don’t, it is a significant risk.”

Puppies should be vaccinated at six to 14 weeks and then again each year.

Up to 300 dogs died in the northern suburbs in 2005, the last time there was a major outbreak of the virus.