Volume 16, Issue 1: 2026 - Article 221

Abstract
Canine parvoviral enteritis (CPE) remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Nigerian dogs, yet the application of global evidence-based management protocols for the disease in local clinical settings is poorly documented. Although international guidelines emphasize early enteral nutrition and microbiota modulation as cornerstones of CPE management, their uptake among Nigerian veterinary clinicians has not been systematically evaluated across the years. This cross-sectional survey assessed the nutritional and microbiota management practices of 109 veterinary clinicians in Nigeria during CPE treatment. A structured questionnaire captured socio-demographic data and self-reported practice patterns, scored on a 0 – 4 ordinal scale and categorized into performance tiers. Most respondents were small-animal practitioners (53.2%) and early-career veterinarians (0 – 5 years: 58.7%). Nutritional management status (NMS) was predominantly “Average” (60.6%), reflecting moderate adoption of early enteral feeding (63.3%) and consistent electrolyte therapy, while gut-barrier supportive diets were inconsistently applied. Microbiota management status (MMS) was “Average” in 45.9% of clinicians, with limited probiotic use (24.7%) and rare faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT; ≤ 31.2%). NMS and MMS were positively correlated (r = 0.379, p < 0.01), indicating that clinicians with better nutritional practices also demonstrated superior microbiota management. These findings reveal strong awareness of evidence-based CPE management principles but inconsistent implementation of these practices, which underscore the need for standardized, resource-adaptable CPE management frameworks in Nigeria and comparable low- and middle-income country settings.

Keywords: Canine parvoviral enteritis; Nutritional and microbiota management practices;
Intestinal microbiota restoration; Veterinary clinicians; Survey; Nigeria.

How to cite this article:
Olowu BI, Azeez AO, Tinubu OB, Idris NO, Olojede AA, Zakariya ME, Muhammad H, Akande MA, Ibeh EN, Tonga AI,
Adejumobi OA and Oluwayelu DO (2026). Appraisal of the nutritional and microbiota management practices of
Nigerian veterinary clinicians when parvoviral enteritis occurs in dogs. Journal of Veterinary and Applied Sciences,
16(1): 1384 – 1403.

*Correspondence: E-mail:     babatunde.olowu@wsu.edu     Phone: +2348084574866

Appraisal of the nutritional and microbiota management practices of Nigerian veterinary clinicians when parvoviral enteritis occurs in dogs

Babatunde I. Olowu ^{1 *}, Abdulhakeem O. Azeez ², Oluwaloni B. Tinubu ¹, Nahimah O. Idris ², Al-Amin A. Olojede ¹, Maryam E. Zakariya ³, Halima Muhammad ⁴, Mahmudah A. Akande ⁵, Esther N. Ibeh ⁶,  Augustine I. Tonga ⁷, Olumuyiwa A. Adejumobi ⁵ and Daniel O. Oluwayelu ¹
1 Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
² Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ilorin, Nigeria.
³ Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ilorin, Nigeria.
⁴ Department of Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Abuja, Nigeria.
⁵ Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
⁶ Department of Veterinary Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria.
⁷ Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.

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