Puppy having Parvo

Question
I adopted my 8 week old puppy just yesterday and then shortly after we got home, she was exhibiting parvo like symptoms. the next morning we took her straight to the vets and the diagnosis was confirmed.

We were told that most dogs, particularly puppies might not survive even after the parvo treatment. I was disheartened by the news.
Does anybody have a general idea about the mortality rate for a puppy as young as mine? I believe she is still at her initial stage of parvo development because the people at the shelter assured us that my puppy was healthy just the day before adoption. My puppy is a red heeler/australian shepherd.

Thanks in advance.

Answer
There is no good way to know if a puppy will survive parvo.  There are different strains of parvo and each puppy has a different immunity.  The survival rate is 50% (sorry).  Parvo is an intestinal virus. Treatment consists of supportive care (IV fluids, medication to stop nausea/vomiting, and antibiotics to treat secondary bacterial infections).  Treatment may take 3-7 days in the hospital.  

Parvo is spread in the feces and is very contagious.  Animal shelters or boarding facilities are very prone to parvo outbreaks due to the number of young, unvaccinated puppies in a small,confined area.   The incubation period for parvo is about 7 days.  Meaning that a puppy may have the virus, but will not show symptoms for up to 7 days later.  So your puppy may have seemed healthy at the shelter and was not showing symptoms for several days.

It sounds like you saw the symptoms early and saught treatment early.  I hope your puppy does well!