Dog Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook.pdf - Mr. Walnuts

86 •DOG OWNER’S HOME VETERINARY HANDBOOK
negative fecal smears collected at least two days apart should be obtained before
the diagnosis is excluded. Serology tests (ELISA, IFA) are now available.
Treatment: Giardiasis responds well to Flagyl (metronidazole). Because
Flagyl causes developmental malformations in the fetus, it should not be
administered to pregnant bitches. Other effective drugs are available. There is
now a vaccine available for giardiasis, but this is rarely recommended because
the disease is usually mild and responds well to treatment.
CANINE BABESIOSIS
This is an uncommon disease caused by a protozoan that destroys red blood
cells, producing a hemolytic anemia. One mode of transmission is by the bite
of a brown dog tick. Natural hosts of this tick are various wild animals, particularly
the white-footed mouse and the white-tailed deer. Because these animals
are also implicated in Lyme disease, both diseases can occur at the same
time. Babesiosis can also be transmitted by blood transfusions from infected
animals.
Outside the United States, the disease is found in tropical and subtropical
regions throughout the world. For reasons unknown, the Greyhound is particularly
susceptible to babesiosis.
Most infections in dogs are subclinical. In dogs with acute illness, the signs
are fever, enlargement of the spleen and liver, and abnormal blood tests
indicative of hemolytic anemia. The signs of anemia are shortness of breath,
exercise intolerance, and pallor of the gums and tongue. The bone marrow
and liver can be affected.
Diagnosis is contingent upon finding the protozoan in blood smears. An
IFA serum antibody test also is available.
Treatment: Imidocarb is the only drug currently effective against canine
babesiosis.
Prevention: Prevent infection by controlling ticks, as described in Ticks
(page 123).
CANINE HEPATOZOONOSIS
This is another protozoan disease transmitted by the brown dog tick. Of the two
types of brown dog ticks seen in the United States, H. americanum causes a
more severe illness than H. canis. The geographic distribution of the disease in
the United States is limited to Oklahoma, Louisiana, and the Texas Gulf Coast.
In this case, your dog must ingest the tick—perhaps when trying to remove
it—to become infected. Illness is most likely to occur in immunosuppressed
dogs and pups younger than four months of age. Signs of illness include diarrhea
(often bloody), muscle and bone pain with reluctance to move, eye and
nasal discharges, and severe loss of weight and body condition.